Neha Shukla is a young inventor, innovation advocate for youth, bestselling author, and NASA intern passionate about leveraging science and technology to create positive change in our communities. As her local community in Pennsylvania became devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Shukla channeled her despair into action to create a solution. She invented SixFeetApart, a wearable social-distancing device using ultrasonic technology to slow the spread of the pandemic and save lives.

Shukla’s journey with innovation was featured in the New York Times, ABC, Nasdaq billboard in Times Square, Bloomberg, and more. Her work was recognized by the Royal Family through the Diana Award in memory of the late Princess Diana of Wales, and by President Biden through the National Presidential Service Award. She was also named a 2021 Global Teen Leader, representing the United States for her innovations and outreach.

As Shukla continued tackling other real-world problems through her innovations, she noticed the massive gap of youth in innovation. Our world is facing global challenges, like COVID-19, climate change, threats to cybersecurity - and we need a collaborative approach to solving these problems, with youth as a part of the dialogue. To bring youth to table for innovation, Shukla has been running global Innovation & Problem-Solving seminars, workshops, and sessions with students across the world. Through reaching over 58,000 students over the past few years, Shukla is hoping to inspire the next generation of young problem-solvers and innovators creating solutions to today’s challenges. In a national campaign with Olay and Harper’s Bazaar, Shukla urged corporations to support young girls and women passionate about technology through scholarships, mentorship, and funding. Shukla believes that “your passion and drive to solve a problem goes far beyond your gender and race” and that girls and youth of color are powerful in creating impactful innovations.

Shukla’s debut book, "Innovation for Everyone: Solving Real-World Problems with STEM", released in bookstores everywhere and is an Amazon #1 Bestseller. The book introduces her 4-step innovation process, to build an innovation ecosystem with the collaboration of young innovators, schools, and organizations to solve the world’s biggest challenges. She is currently partnering with Microsoft to bring her book to under-resourced students across the globe and provide resources for youth innovation.

Shukla spent last summer as a NASA intern, working on satellite mission design and orbital mechanics for Earth-orbiting satellites to protect at-risk environmental zones through satellite sensing. Shukla is currently working with the World Economic Forum as the chair of the inaugural Generation AI Youth Council, fighting for child-safe AI systems through policy change and collaboration with governments, corporations, and educational institutions.

STEM Education, STEM, Science, Technology, Education, Influential Women, Empowerment, Diversity, Literary, Authors, Women, Sustainability, Inventors, Youth, Women in Tech