Strategic AI & Linguistic Research for Global Impact
Linguist • AI Researcher • NLP Consultant
I work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, linguistics, and multilingual natural language processing
to design systems that are grounded in linguistic theory and optimized for real-world applications. Through my research, I explore how language and technology shape the way we understand and engage with the world.
As a consultant, I help mission-driven organizations, governments, and academic teams apply AI and NLP to real-world challenges—grounded in linguistic knowledge, academic rigor, and strategic foresight.
ABOUT
I’m a linguist and AI strategist with over 20 years of experience advancing language technologies for complex global applications—from legal tech to social media analytics to low-resource language development. Holding a PhD in Linguistics from USC and having served as Principal AI Engineer at MITRE, I blend deep academic training with real-world leadership. I am the Founder of Zoorna Technology Solutions and Founder and Research Director at the Zoorna Institute for Language, AI & Society.
My research bridges artificial intelligence, linguistics, and the social sciences, with expertise in low-resource languages (Persian, Armenian), computational social science, heritage language analysis and the syntax-semantics interface. In my current research, I study how linguistic structures inform computational models of meaning, events, and narrative. An experienced educator and advocate for AI literacy and diversity in STEM, I co-lead AI4Her, an initiative to empower girls and women through education and mentorship in AI and NLP.
My mission is to bridge the worlds of theory and deployment, so that language, data, and technology work in service of people and planet.
Through my work, I aim to inspire, educate, and shape responsible AI systems that serve people, protect linguistic diversity, and support socially meaningful innovation.
EXPERIENCE
Work History
AI Strategist & NLP Consultant
Ethical AI for Real-World Impact
Multilingual NLP Researcher
Low-Resource Language Technologies
Founder & Research Director
Zoorna Institute for Language, AI & Society
Led impactful work in AI adoption, knowledge extraction, social media analytics, narrative modeling and risk detection. Spearheaded development of national-scale NLP-driven systems applied across judicial, healthcare, and educational domains.
As founder of Zoorna Technology Solutions, I advise clients on AI-driven business transformation in high-stakes environments.
Designed cutting-edge NLP resources and systems for Persian, Armenian and other underrepresented languages. Built lexicons, corpora, evaluation and transliteration tools to enable scalable AI in cross-linguistic and sociopolitical contexts.
Founded and direct a nonprofit research institute focused on bridging AI and linguistics with social challenges. Oversee interdisciplinary teams and research projects spanning temporal reasoning and event detection, bias in LLMs, and AI education initiatives.
AI Literacy Advocate
Expanding Access & Inclusion in AI
Linguistic Researcher
Complex Predicates, Heritage Languages, Syntax-Semantic Interface
Educator & University Instructor
Teaching & Curriculum Development
Launched and lead the AI4Her initiative to empower women and girls in AI. Design and teach programs in GenAI, prompt engineering, and responsible AI, tailored for learners from diverse backgrounds.
Conduct original research at the intersection of syntax, semantics, and morphology---focusing on Persian and Armenian. Publications explore the structure of complex predicates, aspect, and argument realization, with applications in computational grammar and annotation.
Taught across Georgetown, UCSD, and AUA. Designed courses on AI and NLP for discourse analysis and sociopolitical framing, Persian and Armenian heritage language and linguistics, and computational tools for narrative analysis.
EDUCATION
Academic Background
PHD IN LINGUISTICS
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN PHYSICS
GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE
CHIEF AI OFFICER CERTIFICATION
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER CERTIFICATION (in progress)
WHAT I DO
AI & NLP Consulting
-
Strategic planning & AI readiness assessments
-
GenAI & agentic design and adoption
-
Multilingual language processing
-
Ethical AI governance
-
AI literacy and NLP education
Research-for-Hire
-
AI tools for education
-
Social media analytics
-
Knowledge discovery in unstructured data
-
Language resources & dataset development
-
Semantic approaches to NLP
Linguistic Research
-
Complex predicates, event structure and aspect
-
Syntax-semantics interface
-
Linguistic characteristics of heritage speakers
-
Causativity
-
Recursion and scaling in linguistic structure
CONTACT
I collaborate with research teams, academic institutions, and mission-driven organizations on linguistic research and to develop AI systems that integrate linguistic knowledge, multilingual insights, and applied innovation.
LET'S CONNECT!
Karine Megerdoomian
Based in Miami, Florida, USA