Announcing the First Class of Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellows

The Aspen Institute’s Tech Policy Hub is excited to announce the 15 organizations that participated in our inaugural Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellowship this summer. These organizations and their representatives, selected through a competitive application process, will use the policy training they received as part of the fellowship to create policy impact in their organizations and beyond.

The Summer 2023 Nonprofit and Public Interest cohort of fellows are: 

  • Clinic to End Tech Abuse at Cornell Tech, a clinic providing digital privacy and security services to abuse survivors being harmed by technology. Represented by Lana Ramjit, Director of Operations and Computing Innovations Postdoctoral Fellow.
  • DataKind, a global organization addressing challenges with data science and AI to improve the capabilities, reach, and scale of social impact organizations. Represented by Caitlin Augustin, Vice President, Product and Programs.
  • EduDream, a consulting firm that partners with foundations, education agencies and nonprofits working to ensure educational equity for racially and economically diverse students. Represented by Sophia Velez, Project Manager. 
  • EveryoneOn, an organization helping to unlock social and economic opportunity by connecting people in under-resourced communities to affordable internet service and computers, and to digital skills trainings. Represented by Diana Rodriguez, Vice President of Programs and Strategy. 
  • G{Code}, a Boston-based organization that expands access to economic mobility for Black, Brown, and Indigenous women and non-binary people through technical training, affordable housing, and intentional community. Represented by Korene Stuart, Director of Programming.
  • Integrity Institute, a nonprofit advancing the theory and practice of protecting the social internet, powered by our community of integrity professionals. Represented by Theodora Skeadas, 2023 Visiting Fellow, Research and Policy at the Integrity Institute.
  • Northwest Center, an organization improving the economic well-being and quality of life in Belmont Cragin, Chicago and the surrounding communities. Represented by Nancy Valentin, Director of Health Equity. 
  • NPower, a nonprofit with the mission to move people from poverty to the middle class through tech skills training and quality job placement. Represented by Binta Vann, Chief Marketing Officer.
  • Pacific Peering, an environmental technology group focused on ocean health and protection from climate change through the deployment of SMART data cables between islands in the Pacific Ocean. Represented by Josh Richards, Vice President of North American Operations.
  • Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, a nonprofit collaborating with immunotherapy researchers, cancer centers, and industry partners to accelerate the development of curative cancer therapies. Represented by Samantha Liang, Alliance and Collaboration Director. 
  • Global Cybersecurity Institute (GCI) at the Rochester Institute of Technology a nexus of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence research and education. Represented by Nidhi Rastogi, Assistant Professor at Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS). 
  • U.S. Digital Response, an organization helping governments, nonprofits, and public entities respond quickly to critical public needs using technology. Represented by Saad Asad, Product Marketing Manager. 
  • Urban Coders Guild,  a youth-serving program developing tech talent that champions underserved, underrepresented, and otherwise under-resourced communities. Represented by Mikeal Vaughn, Founder and Executive Director. 
  • Tidepool, a nonprofit committed to empowering the next generation of innovations in diabetes management. Represented by Saira Khan-Gallo, Content Marketing and Access & Equity Lead. 
  • The Land Institute, a science-based research organization working to develop perennial grain and oilseed agricultural systems. Represented by Kelsey Whiting, Perennial Grain Public Policy and Governmental Affairs Postdoctoral Researcher. 

These organizations and their representatives completed a 3-week in-person boot camp where they learned the basics of policymaking through practical exercises, writing assignments, and speaker presentations. Many organizations also chose to participate in an optional remote final project where their organizations will try and impact policy themselves. The winning project will be eligible to receive up to $50,000 to support their policy work.

For a full press release, see here. For more information about the Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellowship, see here. To read more about these representatives, you can read their bios here.