Community Events
Parent University
Parent University is an informative conference that offers one virtual seminar per year and a half-day, in-person conference held on The Bush School’s vibrant campus. This connective, community-centered event offers both in-person and virtual seminars exploring topics related to raising children in today’s society.
On the evening of Wednesday, April 22, parents and guardians gathered at the Upper School campus for Parent University: A Community Conversation on AI, a thoughtful and reflective discussion about AI’s current possibilities, risks, and its current use in both curricula and classrooms. Parents and guardians came prepared with questions about the influence of AI for the subject matter experts, and all were answered with knowledge and poise.
“Judgment, taste, and original tone of voice—that’s something that’s still uniquely human,” shared panelist Farah Ali, vice president of AI transformation and technology at Electronic Arts. “I think that being able to teach ourselves discernment around being original and having original thoughts is what’s going to be the differentiator when using AI.”
Farah was joined by current Bush Parent and Vice President for Agentic AI at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Swami Sivasubramanian, and Venture Partner at Madrona and member of the technical team at Anthropic, Jon Turow. All three provided Bush’s parent and guardian community with valuable insights into the use of AI in broader societal spaces and its impacts across a variety of career fields. Each speaker offered both practical insights and big-picture thinking—encouraging the Bush community to approach AI not with fear, but with intention, curiosity, and a commitment to helping young people navigate this new terrain with integrity and imagination.
“Parent University nailed it,” said Jesse Proudman ’03. “Three AI voices in one room with real room for questions—not Q&A theater, but genuine back-and-forth. AI is going to touch every family in this community, and understanding it shouldn’t be a luxury for the people who build it. Nights like this are exactly how Bush bridges that gap.”
The Bush School is an independent day school located in Seattle, WA enrolling 775 students in grades K–12. The mission of The Bush School is to spark in students of diverse backgrounds and talents a passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities
3400 East Harrison Street, Seattle WA 98112 (206) 322-7978
The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment, recruitment, admissions, or administration of any of its programs on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. In addition, The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment on the basis of age or marital status