Santo Domingo.— The Dominican Republic is among the five most disruptive technological innovations in Latin America at the Women in Tech® LATAM Awards 2026, after Dominican air traffic controller Olga Isabel Pérez Encarnación was selected as a Top Five Finalist in the Most Disruptive Award category for the development of SARA (System AI Real-time for Aviation).
The distinction recognizes technological projects with high potential to transform industries through innovative, scalable, and impactful solutions, capable of breaking with traditional models and proposing new ways to address challenges.
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Pérez Encarnación, who has more than a decade of experience as an air traffic controller at the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), leads the development of SARA together with Nolim Studios, a US-based company composed of Dominican talent and specialized in software development and artificial intelligence.
An AI designed for aviation
SARA is an artificial intelligence assistant specialized in the aeronautical sector, conceived to facilitate quick, reliable, and traceable access to critical information for air traffic controllers, pilots, flight dispatchers, and other industry professionals.
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The tool’s name pays tribute to Sara Castaños, recognized as the first female air traffic controller in the Dominican Republic.
Currently, SARA is undergoing evaluation by aviation professionals and students in six countries and also serves as the basis for an international scientific research proposal on the application of artificial intelligence in the aeronautical sector.
The project already has international recognition. In 2025, it won first place in the first phase of the ENAIRE Open Innovation International Business Ideas Competition, organized by Spain’s national air navigation manager, after competing against more than 70 projects from different countries.
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A trajectory linked to innovation
In addition to the development of SARA, Pérez Encarnación is the creator and producer of Quiero Ser Piloto, an initiative considered the first aviation competition in the Dominican Republic and the world’s first educational aviation reality show.
The project has benefited hundreds of young people through scholarships and training opportunities in the aeronautical field. In 2025, Pérez Encarnación received the Runner-up recognition at the Air Traffic Management Awards, organized by CANSO during Airspace World, held in Lisbon, Portugal.
She has also promoted the first female fly-in in the Dominican Republic and develops initiatives linked to STEM areas—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—in addition to working in journalism specialized in these disciplines for El Nuevo Diario.
Heading to the awards ceremony in Cartagena
The Women in Tech® LATAM Awards are part of Women in Tech® Global, an organization founded by Ayumi Moore Aoki whose purpose is to bridge the gender gap in the technology sector and promote female leadership in STEM fields.
The Women in Tech® LATAM Awards 2026 ceremony will be held on August 27th in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where the winners of the different categories will be announced.
The winners of the regional edition will go on to represent Latin America at the Women in Tech® Global Awards, the ceremony for which is scheduled for December 3, 2026, in Paris, France.
SARA’s nomination thus places an initiative developed from the Dominican Republic on the stage of Latin American technological innovation and highlights the potential of Dominican talent to develop artificial intelligence solutions applied to strategic sectors such as aviation.
