If you had asked me earlier in my life if I would be working on Capitol Hill, I would have never believed you. But this is an incredible way to fulfill my obligation of service to the country that has given me fantastic opportunities. The quote by President John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country," is a call to service. It creates the desire to give back in meaningful ways at whatever level you can, either through your local community or on the national level.

My goal for as long as I can remember has been to work in the federal government to improve

lives by reducing inequality. My interest in politics and the government goes back to as early as

elementary school, and has only been heightened by extraordinary events that have occurred

throughout my life.

I see tech policy as a new way to influence the impact of technology on women and minorities, from a different angle and on a broader scale. I am excited to immerse myself in the policy world as a TechCongress fellow, and to help ensure that technology works ethically and equitably for all people.

It is the duty and responsibility of our Legislative branch to ensure that we bend the arc of the country toward the more equitable world. This daunting, complex task is one that I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of. The ability to influence the future of our country, in any small way, is an opportunity that can’t be taken for granted.

I am of the opinion that the challenges facing the current (and future) technology landscape cannot be resolved through a single lens, nor can new problems be resolved by attempting to fit evolving technical issues into outdated constructs. I desire to support pressing issues such as post-quantum preparedness and information security, building sustainable and effective supply chains, intellectual property protection and encouraging innovation for U.S.-based manufacturers, critical infrastructure development and risk management, investing in and constructing more diverse and inclusive S.T.E.M. talent pipelines, and ultimately increasing the bipartisan legislation requisite to defending the Homeland.

I am, at my core, an engineer. To me, being an engineer means being a problem solver. I began my career in cyber security because I’ve always been good with technology (I hacked my first computer in elementary school), and it seemed like the area of technology with the biggest problems that needed solving. This eventually led me to work at a startup called Evernym, where I helped develop innovative new privacy and security enhancing digital identity technology. 

I applied to join TechCongress because I wanted to work in a completely different way than I had before. A technologist around policy experts and lawmakers. A fish out of water, perhaps, but, hopefully, providing some insight into the state of technology as it is today and what Congress can do to better implement technology for purposes of Defense and National security. Broadening the scope even more, I believe technologists working in the Public Interest will be critical to the ongoing preservation and revitalization of the American innovation ecosystem. I hope to play a small role in that.

It’s an uncomfortable reality. Online privacy, at the moment, is a myth. And as more and more services are digitized, self-serving and material decisions will get made by actors with access to vast troves of personal data. And my first month as a TechCongress fellow has taught me this: there’s a good chance I can help do something about it.

As fun as it was to work on technology policy from the outside, TechCongress allowed me to step up and be part of the next wave of technology researchers, thinkers, practitioners, and activists who implore Congress to think critically about how technology can be used not only to serve communities and foster innovation in every business sector but, more importantly how it should be designed to protect the same communities from unintended harms and keep businesses and government entities accountable for infringements on constitutional rights.

I am excited to be entering Congress at a time where transformative ideas about privacy are being reconsidered and new regulation is under active discussion. I look forward to contributing to these conversations through my position as a TechCongress Fellow, where I may be able to have an impact by contributing a deeper understanding of how consumers approach privacy.

I want to make sure that we all benefit from the technologies of today, and that we lay the groundwork to secure the technologies of the future. Cybersecurity is a wicked problem with a diversity of stakeholders. I’ve explored solutions from a range of perspectives, including working with a cybersecurity company, UN bodies, the executive branch, and academic research. Thanks to TechCongress, I have the chance to help grow the hard work of Congress, building up digital security to support personal, economic, and U.S. national security.

The TechCongress fellowship is a perfect example of an opportunity that allows me to deepen my understanding of policy implications of technology and vise-versa. As a cybersecurity professional, I aim to help translate our technological solutions into viable policy outcomes. TechCongress provides me the chance to bridge this gap between the technology sector and Congress.

Encountering system-level problems led me to understand the importance of the means by which one takes action. Inequitable systems create costs borne by all of us, and thus require government leadership. I’m excited to be a TechCongress fellow because it’s a rare chance to approach questions of how technology can be developed and deployed equitably with knowledge, the intent of action, and the right means to create change.

The TechCongress Congressional Innovation Fellowship offers me a way to balance public service while also getting a more intimate understanding of the legislative branch. I hope to help expand and increase congressional access to technologists and Special Operations veterans in order to build and implement better policymaking—with the hope that the decades to come will encompass better technology, privacy, and defense policymaking.

I came across the TechCongress by chance, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to move beyond policy research and into the dynamic world of policy making. I truly believe that emerging biotechnologies will have profound and unseen impacts. I am excited to apply my technical expertise and to work with our elected officials in ensuring a safer and more secure future with emerging biotechnologies. This year will be an invaluable learning experience on my journey into public service, and I cannot wait to get started.