I'm the founder and CEO of Learning Journey AI, where I've helped 100+ professionals develop practical, hands-on AI skills through workshops, training programs, and community events. I organize the DC AI Dinner Series and regularly work with professionals across industries to make AI approachable and immediately useful. I have built an MCP server for the Congress.gov API and have created hundreds of data visualizations over my career. You can see more of my projects at https://nickwagner.info/projects. My background spans the full arc from technical research to government policy. I hold a PhD in Materials Science from Northwestern, where I applied machine learning to materials discovery with research cited over 800 times. I've since spent a decade at the intersection of AI and government, including authoring AI test and evaluation guidance for the DoD Chief Digital and AI Office at IDA, and developing program evaluation strategy for NSF's $540M AI Institutes portfolio as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow.