William “Ed” O'Bryan & Alesia Krupenikava

Husband and wife team William “Ed” O'Bryan, a Foreign Service Officer, and Alesia Krupenikava, a Professional Associate for Public Diplomacy, helped break barriers for women and girls in Turkmenistan through their work with the U.S.-based nonprofit Technovation Girls, helping it launch its program across the country. The entirely volunteer-run program sees teams of girls aged 8–18 follow a six-month curriculum to identify a problem in their community and develop a working mobile or AI application and a business plan as a solution. Since 2021, more than 350 Turkmen girls have participated in Technovation Girls' programming, and three teams have reached the semifinals of the organization's global competition.