On May 13, Cindy Leonard presented a breakout session at the Nonprofits LEAD 2026 conference at Marietta College: “What Does AI Think You Look Like? Exposing Bias in Generative Systems.”
The session looked at how generative AI tools can reflect, reinforce, or amplify bias, especially when creating images of people, communities, professions, leadership, and nonprofit work. We talked about why prompts matter, why outputs need a careful human review, and why “that looks impressive” is not the same thing as “that represents people fairly.”
When organizations use AI to create public-facing materials or tell stories about the people and communities they serve, the stakes are higher than efficiency. The work calls for care, context, and a willingness to ask better questions before choosing AI tools or using them.
The slides from the session are available below. Please note that the deck was created for a live presentation, so the slides do not capture every example, explanation, or discussion from the room.
Thank you to Nonprofits LEAD and Marietta College for hosting such a thoughtful and energizing event, and to everyone who attended the session and joined the conversation.
Cindy Leonard Consulting LLC helps nonprofits bring clarity to strategy, technology, websites, marketing, and communications through practical, right-sized support. To learn more, visit our Services page.
