Naveen Jindal School of Management graduate Monica Shortino, director of social innovation at Capital One, was in Austin last month to give a presentation at South by Southwest (SXSW), the massive conference and collection of music, film and interactive festivals held annually.
Shortino’s presentation, “Scaling AI for the Future Workforce,” focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and Capital One’s partnership with Major League Hacking to develop a first-of-its-kind AI curriculum, which launched this month at the Basic TrAIning: Bot Camp event. The program is part of Capital One’s Future Edge initiative, which focuses on preparing people with the skills, tools and resources to succeed in a digital economy.
Shortino received an MS degree in management and administrative science from the Jindal School in 2008. She previously attended Abilene Christian University and received a BS degree in social work from the University of North Texas.
In her current role at Capital One, she has been instrumental in launching multiple large-scale initiatives, including a high school internship program and a place-based investment strategy benefiting seven cities throughout the region.
“One of the most rewarding things about my job is that every day I get to have an impact on our community, and not only personally,” Shortino said. “I also get to energize and provide opportunities for all of Capital One’s employees to get involved. In DFW last year, our associates contributed more than 41,000 volunteer hours.”
Capital One works with various partners to offer programs that further its Future Edge initiative. In February, the company and the UT Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship partnered on the second annual Innovate(her) conference.
“This year, we expanded the program to more than 200 girls,” Shortino said. “It is a great opportunity to invest in future leaders.”
Prior to joining Capital One, Shortino was executive director for the Plano ISD Education Foundation. Before that, she served as director of operations and development for the Real Estate Council and the Real Estate Council Foundation. Her honors have included a 40 Under 40 Award in 2018 from the Dallas Business Journal, the Rising State Award from the Plano Chamber of Commerce in 2016 and the 30 Under 30 in Commercial Real Estate Award from D Magazine in 2007.
