Maria "Masha" Danilova

Masha Danilova currently serves as the Acting AI/ML Portfolio Director at Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). In this role, she oversees the efforts to drive technological innovation and outpace adversaries by developing and deploying cutting-edge AI/ML and data-driven solutions.

Most recently Masha served as White House Presidential Innovation Fellow and Co-Founder of the U.S. Digital Corps, a technology fellowship modernizing and digitizing federal tech stacks across AIML, Cybersecurity, Software, Product, and Design. Prior to that Masha worked as the Senior Advisor to the AI Portfolio at GSA addressing cross-agency challenges and scaled the AI Community of Practice (18,000+ members) across federal agencies. 

Before entering public service, Masha spent over a decade driving digital and operational excellence in the private sector. As Algorithms & Analytics Senior Manager at Wayfair, she oversaw company-wide initiatives across sort algorithms, pricing, tech investment, logistics, and merchandising. Her career began at Procter & Gamble, where she held various roles across the product lifecycle, including operations, product design, development, and consumer research. Just prior to her fellowship, she consulted for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry in New York City, focusing on post-pandemic economic recovery and digital transformation.

Masha has an MBA from MIT Sloan and an undergraduate engineering degree from Purdue University.