Experience

Meta (2022 - Present; Washington, DC): Product Policy / Threat Ideation

I work across Meta policy and product teams to anticipate and prevent malicious activity on Meta platforms by resourced and determined adversaries, including state-backed influence operations, surveillance-for-hire spyware vendors, and international criminal organizations. I coordinate internal cross-functional networks around adversarial design techniques, tabletop exercises, and red/blue teaming approaches to strengthen our product and policy defenses.

Internews (2012 – 2022; Washington, DC)

I led Internews’ global portfolio of open, systems-level work countering digital authoritarianism. I built, sustained, and managed a diverse team that won over $30M in grants and designed and implemented multiple programs that created positive impact while operating safely in many of the most challenging environments, including:

  • SAFETAG, an open source, capacity-focused organizational security framework that supported the training of a global network of hundreds of local experts;
  • USABLE.tools, which connected human-centered design with digital safety to change how human rights and media activists, trainers, and tool developers interact;
  • BASICS, which improved the governance processes, diversity of developers, and sustainability of, open source security tool development;
  • MONITOR, which advanced threat information sharing among the global human rights community by building the skill-sets of in-country activists to detect and taking down malicious infrastructure;
  • Censorship Circumvention: provided >$10M to anti-censorship tool development, community building, and standards-setting across multiple grants; and
  • Greater Internet Freedom – a multi-year USAID program advancing digital rights and safety in 40 countries centering regional partners in design and execution.

Across my work at Internews, I ensured that our approach on these programs work was open, responsible, sustainable, and transparent. This included creating programs closely with in-country partners, building internal organizational operational security policies and risk assessment practices, and using open source tools and open licensed content.

I also represented Internews at the NGO-ISAC, FIRST, the Design for Democracy Steering Committee, and as a founding member of CiviCERT.

Ashoka (2009-2012; Washington, DC): Co-Director, Tech Team, Ashoka’s Changemakers

I provided product strategy, design, and technical project management for Ashoka’s flagship Changemakers.com open competition platform to source innovative social change ideas.

  • Drove Ashoka’s approach to media, the Internet, and emerging technologies.
  • Developed and led technology strategy for Changemakers’ open competitions, including mobile voting, white-label, API options, and data-driven innovation scoring.

Youth Service America (2007-2009; Washington, DC) : ICT Director

  • Directed a diverse online engagement portfolio, including social media and web strategies and launching high-visibility campaigns for the annual Global Youth Service Day and the “GetUrGoodOn” campaign with Miley Cyrus.
  • Led technical training for crisis call volunteers and provided IT and web support.

Office of Technology Commercialization, University of Texas (2005; Austin, TX): Systems Engineer

  • Automated intellectual property review process for transparency and responsiveness.

Jamaica Ministry of Education (2002-2004; Kingston, Jamaica): IT Adviser; Peace Corps

  • Trained over 3,000 teachers in Internet usage with USAID-funded New Horizons project.
  • Developed a resources for rural schools with limited or no Internet including:
    • a customized Linux Live CD to provide the Ministry’s website and resources, and
    • SchoolTools, a self-guided CD with free / open source software for school labs
  • Provided technical and web-design support for NGOs island-wide and built an SMS-based volunteer intranet supporting volunteer emergency notifications.

eCertain.com (1999-2001; Austin, TX): Competitive Intelligence & Security Specialist

  • Specified encryption and security processes for a secure email and document startup, with co-authorship of eight provisional patent applications around its technology.

Education

  • MA, George Washington University (2007) International Science & Technology Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs
  • BA, University of Texas (1999) Plan II, Multidisciplinary Honors Program Minors in Technology, Literacy and Culture, Spanish, and Philosophy

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