My Journey As A New American

As their fellowship comes to an end, the Millennial Public Policy Fellows are using their final DM posts to reflect on their 11-month journey through D.C.’s think tank and public policy landscape. 

My story hasn’t changed much since I loaded all of my belongings in the back of a moving truck and drove nearly eleven hours from Peachtree City, Georgia to Washington, D.C. last August. Of course, a year in the nation’s capital changes you in some ways. Unsure of how strict the dress code was at my office before my first day, my closet grew to include a few more business jackets—most of them hang completely unused today. After a couple wine and hor d'oeuvres fueled networking sessions, I began to appreciate the nuances of navigating these sometimes awkward post-event receptions, where I was often fortunate to meet people doing inspiring work.

For the past year, I have been similarly fortunate to be surrounded by inspiring colleagues while working as a Millennial Public Policy Fellow at New America. When I left Amsterdam last summer, I was riding a high after successfully completing my masters degree and getting a clear vision for the type of career I wanted in the future. To top my experience in Amsterdam, D.C. would have to be extraordinary.

Thankfully, it was.

During the past year, I have learned more than I thought possible while serving as the Cybersecurity Initiative’s Millennial Fellow. In the fall, I stuck close to what I know best: international affairs and global governance. Alongside my New America colleagues—Robert Morgus in D.C. and Elana Broitman and Karina Sanchez in New York—I delivered a report to the United Nations Secretary General and his Chief Executives Board discussing the normative role of the United Nations vis-à-vis emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomous weaponry, biotechnology, and cyberspace. A separate project took me to the British Embassy in Berlin where I helped coordinate an international workshop on cybersecurity and sustainable development, bridging the divide between development experts and cybersecurity professionals.

In the spring, my work brought me closer to home.

Broadly speaking, I explored emerging digital public policy concerns in the United States by critically examining legislation that would harm cybersecurity efforts in my home state and by participating in a State of the Field convening hosted by Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. More specifically, I focused a great deal of time on addressing the urgent cybersecurity issues facing the domestic healthcare sector and explored ways to leverage new technologies to mitigate these issues.

Alongside Robert Lord, a New America Cybersecurity Fellow and president and co-founder of the healthcare analytics company Protenus, I constructed an entirely new strand of policy research focused on the nascent domestic healthcare cybersecurity space. Our project will culminate this August with the publication of a policy report that aims to square what doctors do in a new world of digital vulnerabilities with an approach to cybersecurity that delivers the best outcomes for patients. Specifically, we set out nearly 20 policy measures required to get cybersecurity in the healthcare sector to where it needs to be in five years time.

As I look forward to my next chapter—three more years in the classroom as a law student at the University of Michigan School of Law—I am incredibly excited to see how my time in Washington, D.C. will shape my education. I expect I will be more assured in my chosen career path, more confident in thinking strategically about future policy challenges, and more adept at overcoming professional obstacles.

But at the end of the day, my story is pretty much the same. I am still that nerdy kid from small town Georgia who loves going out for a night at the theatre, reading up on the latest science reporting and technology news, and hosting “family dinners” where friends and neighbors come together to share their favorite books, ideas, and stories.

Now, I am grateful to add New America to that story.