Heila Precel (/hiˈlɑː prɛˈsɛl/) is a PhD candidate at Boston University in the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences (CDS), based in Cambridge, MA.
Heila studies the data behind modern technical systems: how it is sourced, collected, compensated, and benchmarked, and how those processes can be made fairer and more accountable to the public interest. Her projects span participatory data collection mechanisms for LLMs; AI literacy for students, professionals, and policymakers; and the development of public interest-focused AI tools and evaluations.
Previously, Heila received a B.S. in Computer Science from Brown University, completed a Beit Midrash fellowship at Yeshivat Hadar, and worked at Microsoft as a technical project manager on data telemetry, user feedback, and trust & safety.
