Valerie McLaughlin is a designer and AI researcher at Hanbury, where she helps lead the firm's AI Initiative and is responsible for building its structure, frameworks, and strategic direction. Having worked across AI-adjacent roles at firms of all scales, she brings a broad perspective on how the industry is navigating artificial intelligence at every level. Valerie also works to connect professional practice and academia, cultivating partnerships with universities to explore how AI research and architectural education can inform real-world implementation. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech. "The AI Hail Mary" draws on her most recent experience integrating unfamiliar intelligence into live architectural processes and workflows, offering attendees a closer look at what it means to bring AI into a firm in a meaningful way.