How to build fast, bold, and purposefully with AI, without losing your humanity?

In this special in-person episode of Rendered, we explore what it means to build like a human with two guests whose work stretches from international rescue missions to AI-powered comic books.

• Vicki Mayo, founder, CEO, technologist, and humanitarian, who helped rescue 147 Afghan girls
• Don Pingaro, CMO of Fulcrum Digital and the author of Rules of New York City, a comic book illustrated using generative AI in just 30 days

Together, we dive into what happens when you let go of the linear path... and build with urgency, creativity, and heart.

🎧 In this episode:

• Vicki walks us through the emotional and logistical chaos of orchestrating a life-saving rescue effort from her home theater-turned-war room
• Don reveals the very real limitations of AI image generation
• We discuss whether trade schools, liberal arts, or AI tools will best prepare the next generation for the future of work
• We talk about why foundational thinking, not just AI tools, is what makes a tech stack truly future-proof
• Vicki explains how her stress-reduction wearables use AI and haptic feedback to calm your nervous system in under 30 seconds
• In our Would You Ship? segment, we explore a wearable product that lets two people feel each other’s emotional state in real-time, and ask: is that too much?

💡 We also explore a core tension at the heart of this episode: AI is fast, but it still needs strategy, emotion, and real human stakes to matter.

About Vicki Mayo

Vicki is the CEO of Sunny Day Sports, Touchpoint Solutions, and Chairwoman of GMI Cybersecurity, Arizona’s largest woman- and minority-owned tech company. She’s also the co-founder of the Mayo Family Foundation and led a high-stakes international rescue of 147 Afghan girls during the Taliban’s return to power.

About Don Pingaro

Don is the Chief Marketing Officer at Fulcrum Digital, where he leads AI and emerging tech initiatives. He’s also the author of Rules of New York City, a comic book that uses AI to illustrate the unspoken (and unhinged) rules of surviving the Big Apple.