{"id":67864,"date":"2026-01-28T21:47:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/887432567"},"modified":"2026-01-28T21:47:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:47:06","slug":"mccourt-welcomes-new-cohort-of-tech-public-policy-fellows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/mccourt-welcomes-new-cohort-of-tech-public-policy-fellows\/","title":{"rendered":"McCourt Welcomes New Cohort of Tech & Public Policy Fellows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Georgetown University\u2019s McCourt School of Public Policy<\/span> announced<\/span><\/a> its fifth cohort of <\/span>Tech & Public Policy (TPP)<\/span> fellows, who aim to bring professional experience in the tech sector to the <\/span>Capitol Campus<\/span>, on<\/span> Jan. 20. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fellows include<\/span> Megan Shahi,<\/span> the<\/span> director of technology policy at the Center for American Progress, a think tank<\/span>;<\/span> Kris Rose (GRD \u201918)<\/span>, who currently leads artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives at <\/span>IBM <\/span>and formerly worked at <\/span>Meta<\/span> and the<\/span> Central Intelligence Agency<\/span>; and <\/span>Sydney Saubestre<\/span>, who works at the think tank <\/span>New America\u2019s Open Technology Institute<\/span> on issues surrounding data and privacy. The spring cohort, through a series of events and discussion groups featuring teams of student leaders, will focus their work on social media, artificial intelligence and digital governance, according to <\/span>TPP program director Michael Bailey.   <\/span>The McCourt School of Public Policy\u2019s spring cohort of Tech & Public Policy fellows will include Megan Shahi, Kris Rose, and Sydney Saubestre, Georgetown University announced on Jan. 20. (Georgetown University)<\/span><\/p>\n

Bailey,<\/span> who joined the TPP program as director Jan. 1, said the fellowship is an opportunity for Georgetown students to engage in meaningful conversations about technology and public policy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the goals of the tech and public policy programs is for us to be a hub for high-end experts, and for students and others to really engage in the hard questions about how tech and public policy intersect,\u201d <\/span>Bailey <\/span>told The Hoya. \u201cThe fellowship is one of our flagship programs.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Bailey<\/span> said the fellows support the<\/span> McCourt <\/span>school\u2019s efforts to keep up with current policy challenges, such as the rise of AI.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a really important part of our efforts to connect to \u2018real policy world,\u2019 which, by the way, is moving so fast,\u201d<\/span> Bailey<\/span> said. \u201cWe have a lot of faculty who do these kinds of things, but you\u2019ve got to be on the ground to keep up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shahi<\/span>, who will lead the discussion group \u201cDesigning Values-Based Regulation: Navigating Trade-Offs in Tech Policy,\u201d said she was interested in the TPP program because it emphasizes practical learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was drawn to the program because it sits right at the intersection of theory and practice,\u201d <\/span>Shahi <\/span>wrote to The Hoya. \u201cStudents often know the issues well, but what\u2019s harder to learn is how to navigate competing values when there\u2019s no perfect answer.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Rose<\/span> said his discussion group, \u201cDeveloping a Holistic AI Governance Ecosystem,\u201d will focus on regulating emerging technologies in both the private and public sectors. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what I\u2019ll be focusing on is, how are we creating the systems of governance? And determining who makes what decisions, because these platforms are unprecedented in their impact on society and their scale across different boundaries and borders, and not one government can necessarily control them,\u201d <\/span>Rose <\/span>told The Hoya. \u201cWhat does a new governance ecosystem look like to manage these technologies?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rose, <\/span>who received his master\u2019s degree in public policy from <\/span>McCour<\/span>t, said he wanted to become a fellow to support current students.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat excites me the most, and what I hope to bring back through the fellowship, is hopefully support to the student body, because I felt so supported as a student when I was studying and loved the access to policy practitioners,\u201d<\/span> Rose<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Shahi <\/span>said she hopes to help students gain confidence in making policy decisions, a skill they can bring into their careers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTech policy is full of gray areas, and it\u2019s easy to feel like there has to be a \u2018right\u2019 answer or that otherwise it\u2019s not worth advocating for, which is definitely not the case,\u201d <\/span>Shahi <\/span>wrote. \u201cI also hope that <\/span>McCourt <\/span>students learn how to develop frameworks they can carry into their careers, offering ways of thinking through problems when values collide and the stakes are real and p<\/span>ressing, whether in tech policy or elsewhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Baile<\/span>y said universities such as Georgetown play an important role in shaping ongoing conversations about tech and public policy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be perfectly objective or anything, but we don\u2019t have financial incentives on one thing or the other for any answer to any given question,\u201d <\/span>Bailey<\/span> said. \u201cWe can worry about the truth and we may not achieve it, I don\u2019t think that we have some exclusive access to it, but our incentives are for us to be a really good place to have some really good conversations.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Rose<\/span> said he is excited to learn from the other fellows, as well as students, in Spring 2026.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super excited to learn from the other fellows,\u201d <\/span>Rose<\/span> said. \u201cWe might not necessarily always be doing events on the same day and we might be in and out, but I think that one of the really cool things about the fellowship is that it\u2019s a cohort model, and so Georgetown is not only bringing together fellows to support the students, but the fellows themselves can learn from one another.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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