Cambridge, MA— The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce the establishment of the Technology and Democracy Fellowship. Designed to build connections between the Kennedy School and the worlds of technology, policy, and government, the fellowship supports practitioners and students in developing their skills and understanding of major concepts related to technology and governance.
Technology and Democracy Fellows will design and lead a series of hands-on workshops for Harvard Kennedy School students on a broad range of technological topics. Through participation in the workshops, students will gain a deeper understanding of how to effectively utilize data visualization techniques, convey compelling digital stories, employ technologists’ platforms like GitHub, and make use of technology to facilitate interaction between the public and government.
The Technology and Democracy Workshops and the community of learning they are designed to inspire will aid the fellows as they develop a substantive project that is salient to their field and seeks to improve the quality of democratic governance. The AY2015-16 Technology and Democracy Fellows’ projects include: building databases to open campaign finance information to journalists and the public; supporting local election officials with hands-on technology training; evaluating and streamlining how the Federal government uses technology; and building capacity between civic tech startups and the governments they aim to serve.
AY2015-16 Technology and Democracy Fellows include:
- Anjelika Deogirikar, ORGANIZE Innovator in Residence, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Tiana Epps-Johnson, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Technology and Civic Life
- Marci Harris, Co-founder and CEO, POPVOX
- Solomon Kahn, Director of Analytics, Paperless Post
- Seamus Kraft, Executive Director, The OpenGov Foundation
- Dhrumil Mehta, Database Journalist, FiveThirtyEight
- Hollie Russon Gilman, Ash Center Democracy Fellow; Civic Innovation Fellow, New America Foundation
About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence and innovation in governance and public policy through research, education, and public discussion. Three major programs support our mission: the Program on Democratic Governance, the Innovations in Government Program, and the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu
For more information:
Daniel Harsha
Associate Director for Communications
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Harvard Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy Street, Box 74
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-4347