People
We are a small dedicated team made up of technologists, analysts, researchers, advocates and policy experts.

María Paz Canales is Executive Director of Derechos Digitales, a non-profit organization she helped found in 2005. With her team based in Chile, she works to advance human rights, privacy, and access to knowledge and information in Latin America. Previously, her work in private practice and academia covered telecommunications regulation, competition, data protection and intellectual property. María is a Chilean lawyer and holds a Master's Degree with specialization in Law and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Matt Browne is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he leads the organization’s work on populism, and is the founder and director of Global Progress, a network of progressive think tanks, strategists and leaders. Matt was co-director of the Berggruen Institute task force on Renewing Democracy for the Digital Age, and sits on the board of a host of progressive foundations, including Policy Network, Canada 2020, Terra Nova and VoltaItalia.

Democracy activist, open source technology sustainer, co-founder & CEO at Open Collective and Chair of DemocracyEarth Foundation. Pia worked in politics in Argentina and developed technology for democracy around the world. Y Combinator Alum, Forum of Young Global Leaders (World Economic Forum), globe-trotter, and Roma's mum.

Emma is Executive Director of SumOfUs, a global movement of over 15 million members worldwide. She is a lawyer and a writer, and her writing has been published in The Guardian, The Nation, Huffington Post and other international outlets. She was previously Deputy Director at Avaaz, practiced constitutional appellate law and administrative law and worked on issues of wrongful arrest and wrongful conviction in Canada.

Marietje is the international policy director at Stanford University Cyber Policy Center, international policy fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and President of the Cyber Peace Institute. Between 2009 and 2019, she served as a Member of European Parliament for the Dutch liberal democratic party where she focused on trade, foreign affairs and technology policies.

Shoshana is the Charles Edward Wilson Professor Emerita at Harvard Business School and a former Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. She is the author of three books: 'In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power', 'The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals' and the 'Next Episode of Capitalism' (with James Maxmin), and most recently, 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power'.

Audrey Tang is Taiwan's digital minister in charge of social innovation. She is a software programmer known for revitalizing the computer languages Perl and Haskell and for building the online spreadsheet system EtherCalc in collaboration with Dan Bricklin. Audrey served on Taiwan's National Development Council's Open Data committee and K-12 curriculum committee, and she led the country's first e-Rulemaking project. She has also worked as a consultant with Apple on computational linguistics, with Oxford University Press on crowd lexicography and with Socialtext on social i…
Audrey Tang is Taiwan's digital minister in charge of social innovation. She is a software programmer known for revitalizing the computer languages Perl and Haskell and for building the online spreadsheet system EtherCalc in collaboration with Dan Bricklin. Audrey served on Taiwan's National Development Council's Open Data committee and K-12 curriculum committee, and she led the country's first e-Rulemaking project. She has also worked as a consultant with Apple on computational linguistics, with Oxford University Press on crowd lexicography and with Socialtext on social interaction design. She actively contributes to g0v ("gov zero"), a vibrant community that focuses on creating tools for the civil society with the call to "fork the government."

Melody Patry is Advocacy Director at Access Now. She leads on global advocacy, communications, and campaigns, working closely with the Policy and Tech teams to develop the strategies and partnerships needed to protect the internet and those who use it. Previously, Melody was head of advocacy at free speech organization Index on Censorship in London, where she worked with human rights defenders, government officials, and in coalitions such as the Global Network Initiative, the Civic Solidarity Platform, and Don’t Spy on Us. Before that, she worked with Cairo-based grassroots organizations and …
Melody Patry is Advocacy Director at Access Now. She leads on global advocacy, communications, and campaigns, working closely with the Policy and Tech teams to develop the strategies and partnerships needed to protect the internet and those who use it. Previously, Melody was head of advocacy at free speech organization Index on Censorship in London, where she worked with human rights defenders, government officials, and in coalitions such as the Global Network Initiative, the Civic Solidarity Platform, and Don’t Spy on Us. Before that, she worked with Cairo-based grassroots organizations and artists on campaigns addressing women’s rights issues, assisted the Representative to the European Union for Doctors Without Borders, and acted as a political advisor for the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. She holds an MA in International Security from Sciences Po Paris and a BA in Law and Political Science from Lille II University.

Matt Mitchell is a hacker and Tech Fellow at The Ford Foundation. Matt is working with the BUILD and Technology and Society teams at Ford Foundation to develop digital security strategy, technical assistance offerings, and safety and security measures for the foundation’s grantee partners.
“Matt was recently named by WIRED magazine as one of the 25 “… innovators who are using technology to lead society through this period of global uncertainty and pointing the way to a safer future.” called the WIRED25. He was in past listed by VICE’s MOTHERBOARD as a HUMAN OF THE YEAR, for his work protecting…
Matt Mitchell is a hacker and Tech Fellow at The Ford Foundation. Matt is working with the BUILD and Technology and Society teams at Ford Foundation to develop digital security strategy, technical assistance offerings, and safety and security measures for the foundation’s grantee partners.
“Matt was recently named by WIRED magazine as one of the 25 “… innovators who are using technology to lead society through this period of global uncertainty and pointing the way to a safer future.” called the WIRED25. He was in past listed by VICE’s MOTHERBOARD as a HUMAN OF THE YEAR, for his work protecting marginalized communities from surveillance.
Committed to using his vast digital skills—as hacker, developer, operational security trainer, security researcher, and data journalist—for good, Matt has worked in various capacities at the intersection of technology and social justice. He directed digital safety and privacy for Tactical Technology Collective, a global NGO based in Berlin, and he has trained countless activists, journalists, and NGOs in digital security, safety, and privacy. In line with his personal work, which focuses on marginalized, aggressively monitored, over-policed populations, he founded and leads CryptoHarlem, impromptu workshops teaching basic cryptography tools to the predominantly African American community in Upper Manhattan. He has worked for private security firm GJS Security, helping to protect devices from hackers. He has also worked as a data journalist at the New York Times and as a developer at CNN, Time Inc., NewsOne, and other media outlets.
In 2016, Matt served as a Ford-Mozilla Open Web fellow, embedded at Color Of Change. He was also an Internet Freedom Festival fellow, a New America Cybersecurity Initiative fellow, and an adviser to the Open Technology Fund, Internet Freedom Festival, Human Rights Foundation, Digital Security Exchange (DSX), UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

María Paz Canales is Executive Director of Derechos Digitales, a non-profit organization she helped found in 2005. With her team based in Chile, she works to advance human rights, privacy, and access to knowledge and information in Latin America. Previously, her work in private practice and academia covered telecommunications regulation, competition, data protection and intellectual property. María is a Chilean lawyer and holds a Master's Degree with specialization in Law and Technology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Evelyn is the Executive Director of Bits of Freedom, where she is responsible for strategy, personnel and operational management. Prior, she supported their voluntary projects, contributed to strengthening the European network we are part of and wrote about the dominance of major communication platforms. Evelyn is also the co-founder of The Hmm, a platform for contemporary visual culture, and member of the Digital Culture advisory committee of the Creative Industries Fund NL.

Democracy activist, open source technology sustainer, co-founder & CEO at Open Collective and Chair of DemocracyEarth Foundation. Pia worked in politics in Argentina and developed technology for democracy around the world. Y Combinator Alum, Forum of Young Global Leaders (World Economic Forum), globe-trotter, and Roma's mum.

Sarah Aoun is the chief technologist at the Open Technology Fund. As a human rights technologist, she works with activists, journalists, and high-risk communities on security and privacy. She has given numerous trainings on operational and digital security and has worked with several groups and NGOs to set up organizational security practices. Sarah currently sits on the board of the Internet Freedom Festival. She was also a Ford-Mozilla open web fellow, an Internet freedom fellow, and an advisor to GJS Security and to the Human Rights Foundation.

As Principal at Luminate, Swee Leng works with our Data & Digital Rights team to identify funding opportunities, support funding execution and portfolio management, and undertake policy research and analysis.
Before joining Luminate, Swee Leng was Head of Policy and Public Affairs at The Legal Education Foundation. During her time there she led a portfolio of policy grants focusing on the technical legal capacity of civil society to engage with the legislative process relating to the UK’s exit from the EU. Swee Leng was also responsible for developing the Foundation’s activity on data proc…
As Principal at Luminate, Swee Leng works with our Data & Digital Rights team to identify funding opportunities, support funding execution and portfolio management, and undertake policy research and analysis.
Before joining Luminate, Swee Leng was Head of Policy and Public Affairs at The Legal Education Foundation. During her time there she led a portfolio of policy grants focusing on the technical legal capacity of civil society to engage with the legislative process relating to the UK’s exit from the EU. Swee Leng was also responsible for developing the Foundation’s activity on data processing by government, public law, and rule of law principles, and is a member of Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group for the UK Government.
Prior to this, she worked at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law where she led the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rule of Law. She began her career as an environment and planning lawyer.

As a Principal, Amira sources and manages Luminate’s global Civic Empowerment grants and investments to help ensure that everyone, especially those who are marginalised or underserved, can participate in governance, receive the services they need and hold those in power to account.
Amira was most recently Director of Programs and Strategy at Reboot, leading its New York-based Programs Team and working to advance civic participation and social action with a variety of philanthropic, government, and private sector partners. She also worked on Reboot’s theory of change and organisational strategy…
As a Principal, Amira sources and manages Luminate’s global Civic Empowerment grants and investments to help ensure that everyone, especially those who are marginalised or underserved, can participate in governance, receive the services they need and hold those in power to account.
Amira was most recently Director of Programs and Strategy at Reboot, leading its New York-based Programs Team and working to advance civic participation and social action with a variety of philanthropic, government, and private sector partners. She also worked on Reboot’s theory of change and organisational strategy.
Prior to this Amira was a Programme Manager at Transparency International – Defence and Security. Amira first led the Africa Programme and later managed an initiative to develop global norms for responsible defence governance, as well as the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index, TI’s flagship publication on defence and security.
A former Tahrir Square activist, Amira started her career in non-profit organisations in Egypt.

As Advocacy Director, Alaphia leads on developing our advocacy and campaigning strategy, including engagement with partners. Her mission is to build a diverse network of civil society groups and stakeholders around the world to tackle digital threats to democracy. She brings a decade of campaigning experience, first at Amnesty International and then as a senior campaigner at Avaaz, where she focused on issues of media reform, human rights and the impact of digital hate speech on minorities. One of her successes includes protecting Sky television in the UK from a takeover by media mogul Rupert…
As Advocacy Director, Alaphia leads on developing our advocacy and campaigning strategy, including engagement with partners. Her mission is to build a diverse network of civil society groups and stakeholders around the world to tackle digital threats to democracy. She brings a decade of campaigning experience, first at Amnesty International and then as a senior campaigner at Avaaz, where she focused on issues of media reform, human rights and the impact of digital hate speech on minorities. One of her successes includes protecting Sky television in the UK from a takeover by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Earlier she was a news anchor and journalist at New Delhi Television, expanding the network's coverage of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to some of the most remote parts of South Asia.

As Executive Director, Ben is responsible for strategic direction, overseeing the coordination of policy, technology and civic engagement work, providing expert counsel on policy development and advocacy. His mission is to push financial, knowledge and relational resources into a global network of organisations working to achieve our aims. Ben’s role is an evolution of his previous position as Luminate’s Director of Policy & Advocacy. Ben continues to be policy and advocacy advisor at Luminate. Before starting Reset, he co-led the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV) in Berlin, helping devel…
As Executive Director, Ben is responsible for strategic direction, overseeing the coordination of policy, technology and civic engagement work, providing expert counsel on policy development and advocacy. His mission is to push financial, knowledge and relational resources into a global network of organisations working to achieve our aims. Ben’s role is an evolution of his previous position as Luminate’s Director of Policy & Advocacy. Ben continues to be policy and advocacy advisor at Luminate. Before starting Reset, he co-led the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV) in Berlin, helping develop the organisation into a leading tech policy voice in German politics. He was also a Senior Adviser to New America in Washington DC, helping design the Public Interest Technology Initiative, and led the technology policy advisory group for the 2016 Clinton US presidential campaign.

As Chief Technologist, Dan oversees our technology-centred efforts, leading technology funding and implementation work, delivering counsel and a network of experts to support Reset and partners across the full portfolio of work. His mission is building our capacity as a trusted source and sharer of knowledge at the intersection of technology and democracy. Previous roles include Principal Director and Chief Technologist of the Open Technology Fund, which Dan co-founded in 2012 and remains involved as a strategic advisor to the team and board. Earlier, he served as Senior Producer and Technolo…
As Chief Technologist, Dan oversees our technology-centred efforts, leading technology funding and implementation work, delivering counsel and a network of experts to support Reset and partners across the full portfolio of work. His mission is building our capacity as a trusted source and sharer of knowledge at the intersection of technology and democracy. Previous roles include Principal Director and Chief Technologist of the Open Technology Fund, which Dan co-founded in 2012 and remains involved as a strategic advisor to the team and board. Earlier, he served as Senior Producer and Technologist for the Al Jazeera Network, modernising traditional investigative journalism and protecting reporters in the field.

As Analyst, Dylan’s research and strategic planning support our programmatic work on law and policy around the world. He builds out our network of relationships, evaluating projects and scoping funding opportunities in support of cutting-edge research, technology development, civic engagement and policy advocacy. Dylan’s work follows on from his previous role as researcher for Luminate, and Omidyar Network before that. His remit focused on developing understanding about digital threats to democracy, studying elections, disinformation and data privacy legislation. Dylan also worked on due diligence for grants and investments.

As a consultant on public policy, Poppy leads on Reset's UK policy and political strategy. Combining her expertise in policy and technology, Poppy's mission is to maximise Reset's impact in the UK, and driving its powerful policy agenda. As well as having run multiple technology advisory businesses, supporting some of the world's leading technology companies and start-ups, Poppy also worked in Downing Street for two years where she was an advisor on public appointments and tech policy. Poppy is a World Economic Forum "Global Shaper" and in 2018 was recognised in …
As a consultant on public policy, Poppy leads on Reset's UK policy and political strategy. Combining her expertise in policy and technology, Poppy's mission is to maximise Reset's impact in the UK, and driving its powerful policy agenda. As well as having run multiple technology advisory businesses, supporting some of the world's leading technology companies and start-ups, Poppy also worked in Downing Street for two years where she was an advisor on public appointments and tech policy. Poppy is a World Economic Forum "Global Shaper" and in 2018 was recognised in Brummell Magazine's "Ones to Watch" list celebrating London's high-potential talent.