Can mission-driven technology and AI truly work hand-in-hand to better serve humanity?
Join Kate O’Neill as she brings The Tech Humanist Show live to the SAFe & AI Summit with a compelling conversation featuring Lindsay Ann Wirthlin, who leads enterprise agile transformation at the American Red Cross.
Lindsay shares powerful stories about weaving technology into mission-driven work when every minute counts. Discover how the American Red Cross uses SAFe patterns and agile practices as the backbone for AI adoption and organizational change.
Topics Covered
- Mission-driven technology at the Red Cross
- The role of SAFe patterns in AI adoption
- Prioritization in high-urgency organizations
- Tackling change and adoption fatigue
- Overcoming the human barriers to AI
- Partnerships between Agile and AI teams
- Measuring business value in technology transformation
- Practical workshops for AI intake and adoption
- Building trust and conflict resolution between teams
- Success stories and the importance of scaffolding
- The core of agile: people and relationships
Episode Chapters
00:04 Introduction and context at the AI Summit
01:13 Mission-driven technology in action
02:17 Technology and the human experience at the Red Cross
03:34 What is SAFe and why it matters for leaders
04:06 Prioritization in urgent, mission-critical settings
05:21 Integrating AI: fears, realities, and professional impact
07:01 Navigating AI and Agile priorities
08:38 Signals & strategies for closing collaboration loops
09:42 Adoption fatigue and the human side of new tech
12:01 Bridging AI and organizational change management
13:17 Agile transformation as scaffolding for AI
15:28 From idea to outcome: real-world application of agile + AI
17:40 Forging practical partnerships between Agile COE and AI
19:11 Team linkages, intake models, and coaching
22:02 Decision-making boundaries and conflict resolution
24:23 Measuring effectiveness across teams
26:10 The AI intake problem-solving workshop
29:03 Lowering the adoption threshold: demos and use cases
32:15 AI coaches and bridging team learning
34:17 Tooling innovations for backlog management
35:55 Practices for Monday: inspect, adapt, and connect
38:04 The heart of transformation: people as scaffolding
39:39 Sources of hope and looking ahead
41:23 Closing remarks & credits
