january 2024 fellows
Tie Hardy, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Hailing from Massachusetts, Tie is a technologist and accessibility advocate with experience in web operations and front end development. After receiving a bachelor's degree in Neuropsychology, Tie has worked for a number of organizations in both the public and private sectors including the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Their policy interests include the intersections of AI and accessibility, healthcare, and transportation.
Dean Alderucci, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Dean is an AI specialist. He directs AI research at an academic center and creates AI systems for lawyers and regulators. He also has years of experience as a technology and IP lawyer. He holds a dual PhD in AI and in Public Policy, a JD, and an LLM in innovation & information law.
Adina Wollner, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Adina is an information security analyst interested in the nexus of national security and cybersecurity. Most recently, Adina worked at Apple to support our small and medium sized suppliers in growing the maturity of their security programs. Adina earned her B.S. in Computer Science from the University of California San Diego.
Brandon Read, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Brandon is an interdisciplinary technologist with experience developing digital platforms for rideshare, conversational commerce, and cybersecurity. His policy interests include data privacy, algorithmic fairness, platform accountability, and mitigating disparate economic impacts of AI. Brandon holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and briefly pursued a Master in Design Engineering at Harvard before joining TechCongress.
Jhonatan Ewunetie, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Jhonatan is a recent graduate of Stanford University with an M.S. in Management Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Science. He served as a tech fellow on the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is interested in AI/tech policy and oversight, and he is also interested in developing public interest technology to improve the legislative process.
James Schmidt, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
James is a researcher with experience in finance, control systems, and machine learning. He worked previously as research engineer at the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory and as research professor at JHU. He is interested in privacy in data and national security, First Amendment protections in various media, and security of digital information.
Alex Moix, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Alex Moix is a seasoned security engineer and technical intelligence analyst with a background spanning industry, national security, and academia. He has supported missions at Slack, NSA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, DHS, and the National Counterterrorism Center. Alex hopes to drive ethical technology use through carefully crafted policies, shaping the digital privacy and security landscape while fostering innovation.
Candace Moix, Senior Congressional Innovation Senior Fellow
Candace is a computer scientist and interdisciplinary analyst. She formerly worked for Recorded Future, Krebs Stamos Group, and NSA. She holds an MA from Kings' College London's War Studies Department and an MS in Computer Science from University of Tulsa. Candace is passionate about working at the intersection of technology and security, specializing in national security, cybersecurity, and trust & safety.
Reggie Darby, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Reginald Darby, with over ten years in cybersecurity and Air Force experience, has notably enhanced security in various sectors. As a Cybersecurity Manager in Louisiana's largest healthcare system, he developed governance strategies, ensured compliance, and managed risks. He holds an MBA and a BA, and contributed significantly to disaster relief efforts in Louisiana during his time with the Air National Guard.
Jason Liang, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Jason is a technologist who’s dedicated to implementing AI across a variety of public sector use cases, from education to healthcare, in order to benefit all Americans. Prior to joining TechCongress, he was a product lead at Scale AI, where he helped organizations ranging from autonomous vehicle startups to the US government build and deploy AI systems into production.
Evan DiPetrillo, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Evan is a data scientist focused on artificial intelligence and national security. Prior to TechCongress, he worked on the staff of U.S. European Command using data analytics to counter transnational organized crime and served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. Evan holds graduate degrees in Computer Science from NYU and Economics from Bocconi University in Milan.
Lars Schönander, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Lars is a technologist and policy analyst experienced in data science and data engineering. He is interested in the security of critical technologies and improving America’s supply chains. He previously worked at the Foundation for American Innovation. Lars has written for The Wall Street Journal, American Affairs, Commonweal, Tablet, and other publications.
Ethan Moscot, Congressional Innovation Fellow
Ethan Moscot is a technologist interested in threats to encryption, national security, and AI. He most recently interned at DHS, where he created a neural network-based solution to perform department-wide audits on its AI systems. Ethan holds an M.S. in Cybersecurity and Public Policy from Tufts University’s Department of Computer Science and The Fletcher School.
Sarah Harris, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow
Sarah (Ph.D., MBA and MS.Ed.) is a technologist with a career spanning industry and academic research. She has worked at Apple, co-founded an AI startup as its VP of Product and recently led product development at a gov-tech startup. Her areas of expertise include internet access, AI, social media, digital literacy and tech entrepreneurship.
JUNE 2023 FELLOWS
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Wes Hurd, Congressional Innovation Fellow, House Science Committee Research and Technology Subcommittee
Wes is a technologist experienced in computing, information security/cybersecurity, and software systems. He is interested in a range of policy issues including AI, cybersecurity, federal information security, and privacy. He has experience at several security product startups, including ThreatConnect, Dragos and most recently Red Canary and Mozilla. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from George Mason University.
Wes is serving with the Majority Staff of the House Science Committee Research and Technology Subcommittee and working on AI research and standards, quantum computing, and cybersecurity issues.
Victoria Anderson, Senior Congressional Innovation Fellow, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC)
Victoria is a researcher working at the intersection of emerging technology and national security mission areas. Her current focus is on developing trustworthy technology and up-skilling workers to build a robust technical workforce. She has also worked on prototyping algorithms and performing analysis in support of radar perception, guidance, navigation, and control, and modeling and simulation problems.
Victoria is serving with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Minority Staff and working on national security issues.
Kelsey Ritchie Freirson, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Kelsey Ritchie Frierson is a technology and national security professional with experience in startups and federal consulting. Her work has focused primarily on using technology to identify and counter foreign disinformation campaigns online. She is interested in the intersection of technology and national security, including US-China tech competition, data privacy, and cybersecurity.
Kelsey is serving with Sen. John Thune (R-SD) working on AI issues.
Tara Burchmore, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Tara Burchmore is a technologist interested in practical blockchain applications and social media policy. Most recently, Tara worked as a Google Public Policy Fellow. She has prior experience at the United Nations Foundation and at the Glover Park Group. Tara holds a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College.
Tara is serving with Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and is working on the Senate Financial Innovation Caucus and fintech issues.
Frances Schroeder, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)
Frances is a cyber policy researcher passionate about leveraging policy to promote secure and trustworthy technology. Frances received her M.A. in Public Policy and B.S. in Symbolic Systems with a Human-Computer Interaction concentration from Stanford University. During her time on Capitol Hill, Frances is interested in working on a wide range of cybersecurity topics, including software liability and data privacy.
Frances is working for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on national security issues.
Pranay Mittal, Congressional Innovation Fellow, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Pranay is a computer scientist who has worked on cloud security at Microsoft and educational technology at Piazza, a Silicon Valley startup. He has studied machine learning and technical approaches to AI safety. Pranay is a graduate of Rice University with a background in math and computer science. He previously studied at Cambridge University on the Abraham-Broad Fellowship.
Pranay is working for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Majority Staff on semiconductor and emerging technology issues.
Anita Rao, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Anita Rao is a software engineer interested in the social impact of AI and communications technology. Previously, she was in Qualcomm's Wireless R&D division working on 5G and AI research for industrial IoT and edge computing applications. Anita holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and a Masters in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.
Anita is working for Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) on AI, data privacy, and network issues.
Dylan Irlbeck, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Senate Finance Committee
Dylan is a technologist interested in constructing robust, sustainable, and equitable digital systems. Previously, he built large-scale backend services at Flexport, a freight forwarding startup. Prior to Flexport, Dylan worked on improving government efficiency and transparency as a Civic Digital Fellow in the Technology Transformation Services. Dylan earned his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dylan is serving with the Senate Finance Committee Majority Staff and working on issues relating to digital services, AI, and privacy.
Sarah Abdulkerim, Congressional Innovation Fellow, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA-12)
Sarah is a dedicated AI Ethicist with a strong focus on AI governance, consumer protections, and worker's rights within global supply chains. Previously, she served as an Associate Data Scientist and AI Ethicist at T-Mobile, collaborating across departments to deliver Ethical AI guidance aligned with legislation and cutting-edge research. Sarah holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Wellesley College.
Sarah is serving with Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) on emerging technology and artificial intelligence issues.
Meha Ahluwalia, Congressional Innovation Fellow, House Judiciary Committee
Meha Ahluwalia is a policy researcher dedicated to ethical and responsible tech innovation. Meha was most recently Project Manager of the Aspen Tech Policy Hub. Prior to that, she supported research and tech teams at The Brooking Institution, MIT, and Microsoft. Meha holds a BA in cognitive science from Wellesley College and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge
Meha is working for the House Judiciary Committee Minority Staff on antitrust and intellectual property issues.