A hearty welcome to our first MSI Fellow, Sheetal Dhir, the new Equity/MSI Fellow for PIT at New America, will strengthen the Network’s equity, inclusion and justice strategy while working with MSI members to develop and sustain their PIT programs. Sheetal has already begun the work to strengthen the Network’s equity, inclusion and justice strategy while working with MSI members to develop and sustain their PIT programs.

“I know firsthand that the functionality of our democracy and the future of technology are inextricably linked,” says Dhir, formerly the Senior Advisor to the President at Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. “Digital technologies are central to our daily lives and institutions, and it is incumbent upon us to develop approaches to tech design and deployment that ensures civil rights and liberties.”

Dhir brings over 10 years of experience in racial justice work to her role at New America, including stints at Spitfire Strategies, Amnesty International US and the American Civil Liberties Union. She began her career as a broadcast journalist, contributing to Al-Jazeera and ABC News among other mainstream outlets. Dhir will work with members to ensure that those most affected by policy problems will have access to public interest tech careers, and the resources to contribute to technology design, policy and deployment.

“There is no doubt in my mind that in the coming years we are going to need technologists who are civically minded and prominently placed in the C-suites of all the major tech companies. Ensuring the success of PIT-UN is a critical step to making that happen and I am honored to be on the ground floor of this effort,” adds Dhir.