Law or tech - I agonized over this question for my entire college career. I decided tech, and am glad I did. For the last six years I kicked hackers out of victim networks, trained law enforcement, and helped secure organizations all over the world. It has been engaging and rewarding work and I know I chose the right foundation for my career.
But the gravity of law and public policy never left. As issues like encryption, vulnerable critical infrastructure, data breach, and machine learning found their way to Congressional hearings on C-SPAN, I wondered if my background could usefully inform decisions here on the Hill. A way practitioners could be a resource for lawmakers and set a constructive heading on these high-impact problems.
The Congressional Innovation Fellowship is exactly what I was looking for. For the rest of 2018 I will be working in the office of Senator Rand Paul. My background will be available to the Senator and his staff when tackling complex technical problems and I’ll learn the mechanics of lawmaking, who the players are, and how it all works together. That insight may help me drive those mechanics in the future, whether that means becoming full-time staff, joining civil society, or being an advocate back in industry.
Law and tech - I am thankful to find a meaningful intersection, and couldn’t be happier serving with member of Congress I respect as much as Senator Paul. Let’s get to work.