Generative AI in Practice and Perspective

Mathematical Economics Alum Thrives as CEO of AI Company

By Julia Fennell ’21

Mathematical Economics graduate and Colorado College Trustee Lilly Chen ’19 is thriving as the CEO and co-founder of FSH Technologies, a venture-backed Artificial Intelligence (AI)-native company building public digital infrastructure.

“Our mission is for every American to have exceptional digital access to their government,” Chen says. “We have built products ranging from K-12 food service operations to garbage truck routing to fire station scheduling.” 

Chen has always been interested in building technology. She co-founded the first gaming community at CC (C+5) as well as CC Esports, where she led the team to earn the 2019 SCAC Esports Championship title.

“CC prepared me to learn quickly and think deeply about the problem space,” says Chen. “Technology evolves so rapidly that you have to be on top of new developments and understand the historical context in today's world.”

Chen and Johnson Lin co-founded FSH Technologies in 2021 and immediately began making a difference.

“The best success for me is when a city is able to provide more and better public services, faster and cheaper,” Chen says. “When our customers tell us that a social program wouldn't be possible without FSH's infrastructure, it means the world to me. It's why I want to keep building.”

In May 2025, the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ (PPS) School Board approved a 10-year food services contract with FSH Technologies.

FSH Technologies works with PPS food services by providing USDA-certified software for the department. Instead of using manual, time-consuming workflows, FSH Technologies was able to move all the logistics onto one software platform, which also provides a unified database for all parties involved in serving PPS students.

Generative AI didn’t exist in its current form when Chen was on campus, which gives her a unique perspective when mentoring today’s students.

“For students, I think AI lowers the technical barrier, while making their liberal arts education more valuable,” says Chen, who is currently teaching a class at Haverford College on AI and coding. “I was always told that I needed to learn to code to be competitive in the job market. Coding is a lot easier with AI. If you're a current student, I would think of AI not as a shortcut, but as an accelerant. Continue thinking deeply and creatively, but now you also have the ability to execute further.” 

Chen feels strongly about ethical AI and using AI for good. She has served on the board of the AI Infrastructure Alliance since 2023, where she helps research and provide guidance on Large Language Model developments. She has also worked for two years as an AI consultant for the Innocence Project, a non-profit focused on criminal justice reform and exonerating wrongly convicted people.

“I designed human-in-the-loop AI legal tech solutions that help the Innocence Project process intake faster, thereby saving innocent lives,” Chen says. In December 2025 Chen gave a guest lecture at NYU School of Law as a guest of Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project. 

While Chen absolutely believes that AI has a place in higher education, she recognizes its limits and reiterates the importance of a liberal arts education. “Be curious,” Chen advises CC students interested in pursuing a career with AI. “You are smart and capable. AI will never replace your passion.”