Amber Hart is not one to wait for the future to arrive. Instead, she studies and gets ready for it.
Hart earned a bachelor’s in public policy from Georgia State in 2016, a master’s in information systems from Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business in 2018, and an MBA from Robinson in 2025. While pursuing her MBA, she came across the college’s Graduate Certificate in Generative AI and Machine Learning for Business*. She was confident the standalone offering would complement her technical background and strengthen her skillset.
“AI felt like the next major technology shift—almost like a modern gold rush—and I wanted to be intentional about positioning myself for where the job market was heading,” she said.
Throughout her career, Hart has prioritized keeping abreast of emerging technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, and quantum computing. Over the years, she’s held roles including IT assurance senior staff at Crowe, security consultant at Coalfire, cloud security engineer at Southern New Hampshire University, and application security engineer at TCM Bank. During her MBA and certificate studies, Hart served as cloud security architect at Southern Company.
Through the certificate, Hart learned how to evaluate AI from a business perspective and created a framework for approaching challenges. She identifies the issue first, and then weighs tradeoffs around cost, growth, governance, and risk.
“I now consider problems with an AI-first mindset—not just from a ‘can we build this?’ perspective, but from a ‘should we build this, and how do we build it responsibly?’ perspective,” she said.
In her classes, Hart developed and presented custom large language model projects, ultimately highlighting her work in a GitHub portfolio. In job interviews, that portfolio gave hiring managers clear proof of her capabilities. Shortly after completing her MBA and certificate, Hart landed a role as assistant vice president and gen AI cybersecurity architect at Regions Bank.
In her day-to-day work, Hart’s new knowledge shows up in practical ways. She automates repetitive tasks, accelerates research, and extracts insights from large datasets and spreadsheets with greater speed and precision.
“For me, it’s never been about experimenting just to experiment,” she said. “It’s about asking how we can apply AI in practical ways.”
As organizations adopt generative AI, the risks grow alongside the opportunities. Hart’s work now centers on securing AI systems and designing AI architectures that protect user data and reduce misuse. Responsible implementation establishes trust, and trust determines whether powerful tools can be used safely at scale.
“AI is incredibly powerful, but with that power comes responsibility,” Hart said. “If we don’t integrate security and governance from the start, we risk undermining the very benefits the technology offers.”
Hart sees AI as a tool that increases speed and clarity, and allows professionals to focus on higher-value work instead of manual tasks. That perspective reflects the kind of balanced thinking Robinson emphasizes: technical depth paired with business judgment.
Without the AI certificate, Hart likely would’ve remained focused on cloud security alone. Her foundation in cloud infrastructure made the pivot to AI security architecture possible—but the certificate instilled in her the confidence and credibility to specialize.
Today, Hart feels well-positioned in an industry that is still taking shape. By combining cloud security, governance expertise, business strategy, and formal AI training, she has acquired a skillset designed for longevity.
At Robinson, students are encouraged to anticipate change rather than react to it. Hart took that advice seriously. She saw where the market was heading and prepared herself accordingly.
“AI isn’t a temporary trend. It’s a foundational shift,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just watching it happen, but instead actively building the skills to shape it.”
During Hart's enrollment, the program was called the Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Business Innovation.