TechCongress is announcing a one-time, 12-month AI Safety Fellowship for fellows to serve in AI Safety roles in key executive branch offices.
Where They're Serving: Placements for our January 2024 Congressional Innovation Fellows
It is our honor to announce that our January 2024 Congressional Fellows have successfully completed the TechCongress orientation and placement process. After weeks of learning the ins and outs of Congress, fellows networked and built connections with some of the most influential members of the Hill. Our fellows have matched with various offices across Congress, where they will help shape tech policy as we know it.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Tie Hardy
In our final installment of our fellow announcement campaign, we are happy to announce that congressional innovation fellow Tie Hardy has joined the office of Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11). As a seasoned technologist and accessibility advocate, Tie will work alongside Rep. Sherrill on the Select Committee on the CCP. Their primary policy focuses include technology, A.I., security, environment, health, and transportation & accessibility.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Sarah Harris
Senior Congressional Fellow Sarah Harris has recently joined the office of Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). Sarah’s career experience spans industry, academic research, & teaching, with specialization in entrepreneurship, internet regulation, digital literacy, & similar areas. In Lujan’s office, Harris will focus on matters of artificial intelligence, connectivity, data privacy, digital services, and modernization.
Why is There No June 2024 Cohort?
TechCongress’ team has made the difficult decision to recruit and place only one class of Congressional Innovation Fellows in 2024. This was the result of a great deal of planning and conversation, which began in April 2023 at a team retreat in western Virginia. '
In our conversation during our team retreat, we incorporated post-fellowship feedback from TechCongress fellows and alumni to see how we could adjust the fellowship to better suit the needs of the fellows, the program, and Congress.
We decided to test a new model in 2024, with one larger class of fellows in January, as opposed to the typical two smaller classes a year in January and June.
This decision was rooted in a few key elements: prioritizing the fellowship experience, embracing the critical moment created by the growth of Artificial Intelligence, testing a once-a-year model, and creating space for TechCongress to think about refinement and growth.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Dean Alderucci
Viewing the TikTok Ban Through the Lens of the First Amendment
Last week, members of the TechCongress team attended a panel discussion regarding the recent “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” (H.R.7521). The panel was hosted by Harvard University’s Institute for Rebooting Social Media (RSM), a three-year “pop-up” research initiative at the Berkman Klein Center that aims to address social media’s most urgent problems. The panel was moderated by RSM visiting scholar Anupam Chander and hosted speakers Jennifer Huddleston (Cato Institute), Ramya Krishnan (Knight First Amendment Institute), Jenna Leventoff (ACLU), & Alan Z. Rozenshtein (University of Minnesota).
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Evan DiPetrillo
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Lars Schönander
Join us in congratulating congressional fellow Lars Schönander in his placement with the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business. In this position, Lars will work alongside the committee on matters pertaining to federal technical procurement, SBIR, and oversight of SBA and small business contracting.
Our 2024 Diversity Referral Awardees
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Adina Wollner
Meet Congressional Innovation Fellow Adina Wollner! Adina will be working in the office of Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) for the duration of her fellowship. While there, Adina’s work will focus on cybersecurity issues across national security, workforce and healthcare portfolios, and AI & emerging technologies.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Alex Moix
Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow Alex Moix will be joining forces with Senator Mark Robert Warner (D-VA) for the duration of his TechCongress fellowship. As a seasoned security engineer and technical intelligence analyst, Alex will focus on the areas of cybersecurity, technology, and telecommunications during his time in Warner’s office.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Brandon Read
Meet Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow Brandon Read. Brandon will be working in the office of Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) for the duration of his fellowship with TechCongress. As a technologist with experience in the private sector, Brandon will be focusing on responsible innovation and shared prosperity, with a focus on platform accountability, digital literacy, market fairness, and the implications of AI on workers and the economy.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Ethan Moscot
Join us in congratulating Congressional Innovation Fellow Ethan Moscot on his recent placement with the office of Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02). Ethan will work to support efforts in securing critical infrastructure, streamlining cyber regulation, and expanding the national cyber workforce.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Candace Moix
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Jason Liang
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Jhonatan Ewunetie
Meet Congressional Innovation Fellow Jhonatan Ewunetie. Jhonatan will be working with the House Committee on Appropriations and Sub-Commitee on Transportation, Housing & Urban Development. His work will focus on emerging issues in transportation and HUD, including transportation data and autonomous vehicle regulatory policy.
Meet the January 2024 Fellows: Reggie Darby
Announcing the January 2024 Fellows
Since our beginnings in 2015, TechCongress has strived to place technologists in Capitol Hill to positively impact the future of tech policy. With the rapid growth of A.I., social media platforms, cybersecurity threats, and other technological developments, the need for adequate tech policy is greater than ever. The 2024 Congressional Innovation Fellows will apply their technical expertise and insightful backgrounds to support federal policymakers in addressing current challenges and contribute to the creation of a better tomorrow.
We are honored to host such a talented and diverse group of fellows, and will be highlighting each fellow in our cohort in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to learn more about our fellows’ journeys to TechCongress, their areas of expertise, and where they’ll be working during the fellowship.