Sydney Saubestre is a senior policy analyst at New America’s Open Technology Institute focusing on data usage and privacy issues.
Prior to joining New America, Saubestre worked in government, nonprofit organizations, and academic research institutes on a range of policy issues. She is particularly interested in the intersection of emerging technologies and human rights, especially for vulnerable communities in areas such as education, health, and online communications.
While at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) she was a Mellon Fellow in Critical Data Studies, where she worked on open-source data access and helped design a new minor in critical data studies. She also conducted research in partnership with the ACLU SoCal on the impact of digital surveillance on high school students in the United States.
Previously, she worked at UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center on reforming foster care to better support youth who experienced Commercial Sexual Exploitation. She also implemented a city-wide higher education initiative during her time at the Oakland Mayor’s Office, before completing a Coro Fellowship in Public Policy.
Saubestre holds a bachelor’s in economics and anthropology from the New School and a master’s in public policy from UCLA.