Aspen Tech Policy Hub Annual Report 2019 Aspen Tech Policy Hub Annual Report 2019 Launched and founded in 2019, the Aspen Tech Policy Hub is a West Coast policy incubator, training a new generation of tech policy entre- preneurs. Modeled after tech incubators like Y Combinator, we take tech experts, teach them the policy process through an in-residence fellow- ship program in the Bay Area, and encourage them to develop outside- the-box solutions to society’s problems. Table of contents LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 8 THE YEAR IN REVIEW 10 • Why a Tech Policy Incubator? 10 • Fellowship Recruitment 11 • Building a Deeper and More Diverse Bench 13 • The Policy Bootcamp 14 • Fellow Final Projects 17 • Policy Impact 19 • Impact on Fellows 21 • Future Cohorts 22 EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT 24 • Establishing our Presence 24 • Building Partnerships 27 ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 28 • Growing a Team 28 • Outside Support 29 • A Home in the Heart of San Francisco 30 • Making this Work Possible 31 THE WAY FORWARD 32 Letter From The Director From debates about political ads on social to drive innovative and informed public poli- While our fi rst cohort only wrapped up in ing key support. Later, we were able to hire media to the use of algorithmic tools in the cies for the common good. the fall of 2019, we have already seen sig- our second full-time employee, who serves court system, our world continues to shape nifi cant impact of our work on the tech pol- as the Hub’s program coordinator. We se- In 2019, we hit the ground running, es- — and be shaped by — technology. Today’s icy ecosystem. Several fellowship teams had cured more funding to launch summer and tablishing a presence in the Bay Area as a digital tools are being developed at a pace, their work adopted by government agencies winter cohorts of fellows in 2020, and we premier tech policy leadership training and with societal consequences, that few and companies. Other organizations took are fi nalizing our search for a permanent program. In the fi rst half of the year, we can predict. Moreover, despite a growing note; two of our fellows were selected by home for the Hub. This strong foundation became a core initiative of the Aspen Insti- tech policy movement in recent years, there the Transatlantic Commission on Election will allow our impact to keep growing in tute and launched recruitment for our fi rst is still a large gap between Silicon Valley and Interference to work as Election Integrity 2020 and beyond. cohort, selecting 15 talented fellows from a government institutions. Technology inno- Fellows and help combat the spread of mis- pool of over 270 applicants. In the second This report reviews the Hub’s accomplish- vation and policy development largely oc- information in democratic processes. Our half of the year, we developed and piloted ments for 2019 and identifi es short- and cur in parallel, with diff erent stakeholders, inaugural Demonstration Days showcasing an innovative curriculum for policy train- long-term goals for what lies ahead. We are goals, and interests. our fellows’ projects were attended by over ing, which included over 50 events with inspired by what we have accomplished this 100 people each, and major news outlets To address these challenges, we need inno- over 100 featured speakers. year, and eager to continue to drive change covered our work. Perhaps most important- vative and informed solutions. To get there, in technology policy for years to come. ly, we received feedback from our fellows we need a diverse set of people who can Soon enough, our fellows rose to that the fellowship program substantively champion causes — experts who can speak meet our high expectations and changed their career paths and trajectories the languages of both tech and policy. The began shaping tech policy, producing to focus more on policy. dire need for tech policy experts is what mo- tivated us to launch the Aspen Tech Policy 12 robust projects that included While we launched the fi rst successful pi- Hub. This past year was our fi rst year, and we submitting public comments, lot of our program, we also were laying achieved important milestones as we began penning op-eds, and producing a strong foundation for the future of the to build a backbench of tech policy entrepre- organization. We began the program with BETSY COOPER substantive policy proposals. neurs who can use their technical expertise two part-time program assistants provid- Director | Aspen Tech Policy Hub 2019 FELLOWSHIP: FELLOWSHIP RECRUITMENT 5 FAST FACTS In order to recruit our fi rst class of fellows, we held several webinars and in-person events, ultimately attracting over 270 applicants. We were also thoughtful about reaching out to The Year in Review groups traditionally underrepresented in both technology and policy. A group of profes- 2 or 3 sional reviewers helped us narrow down and select our fi nal class, and we interviewed over month full-time 40 candidates before making fi nal selections. Our fi rst 15 fellows had extensive experience fellowship working in cybersecurity, artifi cial intelligence, and media, and one individual had even run for offi ce in his hometown. This fi rst cohort began their two- to three-month fellowship 15 program in early June 2019. inaugural fellows Building on the successful recruitment of our fi rst cohort of fellows, we also recruited in late 2019 a second cohort of fellows who began their fellowships in January 2020. Our second 2019 was an exciting year for the Aspen Tech Policy Hub; from our fi rst cohort represents a group of 15 engineers, start-up founders, and entrepreneurs who were 3 launch of applications in January to the conclusion of our inaugural cohort week bootcamp selected from over 200 applicants. in the late fall, we demonstrated the need for more innovative tech policy training and executed a successful pilot that achieved real impact. 5 to 9 week policy Our fellows are at the core of what our program is all about. Through thoughtful questions and project period WHY A TECH POLICY INCUBATOR? purposeful outreach, we were able to recruit a group of fellows who were not only technically In Silicon Valley, novice startup founders join intensive 2-3 month profi cient, but also diverse and motivated to use their skills for public good. $7,500 incubator and accelerator programs such as Y Combinator and 500 Paid/month Startups to learn the basics of how to build a startup, to network with SEAN AHRENS AMINA ASIM STEVEN BUCCINI for participating successful founders, and to obtain funding for their eff orts. In policy, Health-tech founder Data scientist building Engineer bringing by contrast, there are limited paths for later-career professionals to researching where models for transnational governments into the democracy meets technology communication 21st century get training in policy, apart from returning to school for a multi-year degree. Through the Aspen Tech Policy Hub, we sought to create the Y ALONI COHEN ALISSON DAY ANIL DEWAN Combinator for policy: a program that would enable passionate policy Cryptographer at the Googler passionate about USDSer into technology, interface of computer social justice privacy, and building a better novices to get the training they need to have an impact, without re- science and law world quiring multi-year career gaps. GINNY FAHS ERICA GREENE KARISSA McKELVEY We chose to center the Hub around a leadership training program be- Software engineer Machine learning engineer Open source engineer championing digital rights passionate about journalism decentralizing the web cause a substantive shift in this space will require teams of motivated and privacy and entrepreneurial technologists who will become tech policy cham- pions in a variety of public, private, and civil organizations. As such, we BRANDIE NONNECKE NEAL PARIKH ALEX ROSENBLAT strove to create a dynamic class of fellows for our program that includ- Tech and human rights Startup founder and machine Ethnographer studying how researcher passionate about learning researcher tech rhetoric shapes culture ed academics, startup founders, and software engineers who showed evidence-based policy passion, humility, and a capacity to thoughtfully address the human issues underscored by technology. A fellowship program also allows ELIZABETH RUIZ ORA TANNER STEVE WEIS our participants to grow and learn from one another, leading to dy- Design thinker creating EdTech researcher designing Cryptographer & entrepre- solutions to solve federal more equitable K-12 STEM neur focused on protecting namic collaborations and new perspectives. challenges education people’s sensitive data For our fellowship program, we looked for fellows with three key characteristics: BUILDING A DEEPER AND MORE DIVERSE BENCH Ultimately, our program’s goal is to build a deeper bench of tech policy entrepreneurs. In today’s digital landscape, tech policy issues emerge every day that require passionate and APPLICANTS SHOULD HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT 1 committed individuals fl uent in both technology and policy to advocate for results, cham- PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH TECHNOLOGY. pion causes, and build coalitions. For instance, applicants might have worked as an engineer, computer scientist, or In addition to building a deeper bench of tech policy experts, we are also eager to build business executive at a technology company; might be trained as a data scientist or a more diverse bench. Both the technology and government sectors struggle with diver- in human-computer interaction; might have worked at a university or at a think tank sity issues, and we made it a key goal of our program to recruit fellows from a variety of studying cybersecurity, artifi cial intelligence, or the Internet of Things; or might have backgrounds and perspectives. To do so, we reached out to affi nity groups to advertise the professional technology experience, such as serving as a patent lawyer.