january 2026 congressional innovation fellows

Alexander C. Koch, House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC) Majority Staff

Alexander Koch is an engineer with experience in machine learning, applied physics, and embedded systems. He developed LLM-based news analysis tools at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and previously worked on atrial fibrillation detection, CT imaging, consulting, and on Capitol Hill. His interests include export controls, AI governance, and U.S.–China strategic competition.

Daniel Reichert, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Daniel Reichert is a cybersecurity engineer focused on cryptography, security, and policy. As a cryptography architect at LinkedIn, he led security architecture and governance initiatives. He established cryptographic policies and controls for large-scale systems. His work focuses on explaining how technical systems affect accountability, access, and individual rights.

Hope Mango, House Select Committee on China, Majority Staff

Hope Mango is a strike weapons analyst and former Army officer who blends technical expertise, operational leadership, and policy experience to bridge innovative research with congressional decision-making. She most recently served at JHUAPL and holds an M.E.M. from Dartmouth’s School of Engineering and a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the United StatesMilitary Academy.

Kent Keil, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)

Kent Keil is a technology leader and USMC veteran with a decade of experience spanning operations centers in Iraq to boardrooms in the Pentagon. He has a proven track record in AI strategy, cybersecurity, and enterprise operations. Kent is dedicated to improving the quality of support for service members and veterans through emerging technology. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

La Chiara Landrum, House Appropriations Committee

La Chiara Landrum is a data scientist and cybersecurity researcher specializing in financial systems, healthcare analytics, and national security applications. She directed applied analytics projects with federal and corporate partners and served as a project data scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory. She holds an M.S. in Data Science and is a PhD student in Applied Computational Sciences at Meharry Medical College.

Elizabeth “Liz” Merrigan, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Liz Merrigan is a product manager dedicated to advancing teen online safety and transparency standards that keep pace with developments in AI. Previously, she led teen content safety for the Facebook App at Meta, reducing the distribution of age-inappropriate content across the platform. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Nate Owens, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO)

Nate Owens is a former associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting the U.S. Coast Guard during the deployment of its first computer vision model across the aviation fleet. A U.S. Army veteran, he supported counterintelligence and counterterrorism operations. His policy interests include emerging technology for national security, homeland security, and intelligence operations. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Indri Adisoemarta, Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA-07)

Indri Adisoemarta is a data scientist focused on AI infrastructure and energy resilience. She previously built semiconductor manufacturing models at Intel and climate risk models at UC Berkeley. Her expertise spans semiconductors, energy, and AI model transparency. Indri holds a BS in Chemical Engineering (UT Austin) and is pursuing a Data Science Master’s (UC Berkeley).

Chris Pisani ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Chris “Sparky” Pisani is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate. Since 9/11, he has applied technology to solve urgent national security problems. A computer science doctoral candidate, he specializes in AI, cyber, space, and emerging technology oversight. He recently supported senior leaders at NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, translating risk into practical oversight and funding controls.

Evan Straka, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

Evan Straka is a UX researcher and product strategist specializing in digital service delivery and human-AI interaction. With 10 years of experience across private-sector finance, federal agencies, nonprofits, and civic-tech organizations, like HHS, NIH, CDC, and HUD, his work has improved digital service delivery, usability, and equitable access to public resources.

Jeremy Yu, Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND-At-Large)

Jeremy Yu was a technology consultant who worked at EY and Smartsheet. He has advised F500 companies and federal agencies on digital transformation and IT modernization initiatives. Jeremy holds a B.A. in political science from Duke University. He is interested in advancing American innovation and modernizing the way the government leverages emerging technologies. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Katherine Jin, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14)

Katherine Jin served on Mayor Mamdani's Technology Transition Committee, advising on digital services and broadband policy, and was technical policy advisor to NY State Senator Gonzalez, leading revisions of the NY Privacy Act and AI legislation. She co-founded Kinnos Inc., a biotech company that developed novel technologies to protect patients and healthcare workers from infections.

Matthew McMillan, Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

Matthew is a software developer passionate about technology policy. He brings deep knowledge of the software development process from his time in industry, and familiarity with state-of-the-art tools and practices. His policy interests include data privacy, combating scams, and encouraging market competition. Matthew has a BS and MS in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Rae Moar, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Minority Staff

Rae Moar is a software engineer interested in digital consumer protection, including data privacy, child online safety, and AI standards. She previously worked at Google, building testing infrastructure, where she authored and spearheaded consensus on globally adopted open-source testing standards. Rae earned her B.S. in Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Stephen Duraiswamy, Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07)

Stephen Duraiswamy is a technology professional with expertise in cybersecurity and systems development. He conducted cybersecurity assessments for the Government Accountability Office and developed business systems for a supply chain company. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Business Information Technology. He is eager to develop solutions that strengthen the nation’s defense industrial base.

Yalini Prabhakaran, House Judiciary Committee, Minority Staff

Yalini is a product manager eager to bring her expertise in AI governance, security, and privacy to inform policy that balances innovation with consumer protection. She recently led Responsible AI at Microsoft’s GitHub and previously held privacy roles at Meta and security startup Verkada. Yalini holds a B.A. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley.

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