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Q&A with Sheetal Dhir, Equity/MSI Fellow
Institutionalizing PIT
March, 2023
Sheetal Dhir is a senior strategist with over ten years experience in media, politics and advocacy and PIT-UN’s newest team member.
She sat down with our second-newest team member, Communications & Events Manager Kip Dooley, to discuss why she joined PIT-UN, what she’s learning from our members, and her professional superpowers.
Kip Dooley: Sheetal, my first question is one I always ask our members and partners: what’s your connection to PIT? How did you get into this space, and why do you care about these issues?
Sheetal Dhir: I think it’s three-fold. First and foremost, I was privileged enough to be on the launch team for PIT at New America as a consultant working closely with [now-Director] Andreen Soley. I got to read and write some of PIT-UN’s founding documents during the nascent stages, so the notion of public interest tech has been swirling around in my mind and marinating for years.
Secondly, in my last job at Color Of Change, we did very intensive work around how technology impacts communities of color. Part of how we tried to lead and push for change was by chewing on some of the big questions that public interest technology poses, like “who makes the decisions about how technology is designed and deployed? Who is not in those rooms, and what’s the downstream impact of that reality?” One of COC’s pillars is tech accountability, so I spent a lot of time thinking about bias within tech as well as policies like Section 230.
My third connection is really about my personal relationship to technology. Once I joined the working world, my career completely changed twice because of the internet: first, the news cycle became 24-hour and dictated by ad revenue, and later, advocacy work became much more donor-driven.
Since I left news media, nearly every project I worked on has involved tech and society in some way.
I started off as a news producer in the days of the Blackberry. Anytime my phone rang, I would flinch because it meant I could be stuck in an editing bay for the next three days. The fast transfer of information and the need to respond to it was astounding and transformational in terms of the balance between editorial and business. To me, it became less about context and more about getting the information out quickly. I don’t know if that’s been to our benefit or detriment, I guess it depends on the story or the thing you’re advocating for. Watching how the news cycle, and later the world of advocacy, were completely transformed by technology has left a lasting impression.
On a basic level, a big thing that drives this work for me is just trying to figure out how I’m going to engage with this thing [holds up smartphone] for the rest of my life.
Kip: You’ve worked in broadcast media, strategic communications and advocacy. Which professional experiences prepared you best for this current role as Equity/MSI Fellow with PIT-UN?
Sheetal: Since I left news media, nearly every project I worked on has involved tech and society in some way. When I worked with the ACLU’s David Trone Center for Criminal Justice Reform, camera footage of police killings was starting to become easily shareable. We often got early footage of this video from our affiliates on the ground, and that was my introduction to the power of surveillance technology – either in service of the public good and social change, or in service of policing communities in a very militarized way.
Similarly, when I was at Amnesty International doing crisis work I saw how the Department of Homeland Security started using cell phone technology and public utilities to track migrants and process asylum applications. We were stuck with a really difficult question: is this technology actually empowering people? Are they actually getting on a path to citizenship because of this technology – or are they just becoming numbers on an app? Before this technology, there were citizenship officers talking to migrants and hearing their stories. There was certainly bias in many of those interactions, but now so many migrants just get sorted by an algorithm that no one can see or understand outside of the federal government.
At the ACLU, Amnesty, and Color Of Change, we had to grapple with questions about how the government was deploying technology. That was a big shifting of the lens for me: technology is everywhere, and is built into the fabric of how we administer the state.
Kip: These are massive questions.
Sheetal: Yes, and I have to be honest: I don’t think anyone has figured it out yet. When I was researching disinformation for the president of Color Of Change, it was clear that there are a ton of big questions and no silver bullets or straightforward answers. That’s another thing that inspired me to take on this role with PIT-UN. We’re housed in a think tank, so our job is to think through issues and communicate what we find; we’re also supporting a network of universities creating curriculum, pedagogy, research – and, importantly, a supply of skilled labor so that these issues don’t stay siloed in academia, but they filter into all sectors, both private and public.
Kip: Speaking of our network of universities, you’ve been meeting with our minority-serving institutions (MSI’s) to get a sense of their needs and interests. What are you learning?
Sheetal: What I’m learning is that the boots-on-the-ground academics who are doing the work of PIT and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible are both incredibly passionate and wildly under-resourced. There is just too much to do and too little time. We’re still in a pandemic. Their ideas are amazing, it’s just that we need, like, six of them to get all the work done on each campus. I’m really interested in the possibility of creating a train-the-trainer model so that we don’t have to rely so heavily on the expertise and work of just a few people. We need to spread the wealth.
What’s more, I think there are so many people doing PIT work, but they just don’t call it PIT yet. The more we can get our members to become ambassadors who engage in thought leadership and inspire their colleagues to join us, the better.
Kip: Ok, let’s end with a fun one: what are your professional superpowers?
Sheetal: You know what – I actually took an online quiz the other day that was spot-on. My first superpower is complexity-busting: cutting through layers of information to find the most important ideas. It really comes in handy when a team has a ton of research or ideas, but isn’t sure what it all means.
Kip: I’m even more excited to have you on our team now.
Sheetal: The shadow side is that I can paint in really broad strokes, so I have to make sure I don’t leave out important details. Keep me honest!
Kip: I will!
Sheetal: The second superpower is I’m an empathizer. I pick up on the needs and emotions of people around me, and learn a person’s quirks even without them telling me. The quiz did say that empathizers sometimes channel others’ perspectives so easily that it can be difficult to develop their own point of view or opinions. I definitely do not have that problem.
Kip: Are there any topics folks should ask for your opinion about? Anything you love to discuss?
Sheetal: I’ve learned a lot about Ayurvedic cooking through my own nutrition journey. I’m by no means an expert, but I’ve learned a good deal and enjoy talking about it. I’m also very strong at early 90’s trivia, so go ahead and quiz me. And I love talking about my experience in community organizing. I’m pretty good at getting large groups of people to do complicated things in a short amount of time.
Kip: Wow. Working with PIT-UN seems like a great fit for you.
Sheetal: Let’s just say that I’m excited to be here.
Sheetal Dhir manages PIT-UN’s equity, inclusion and justice strategy while working with MSI members to develop and sustain their PIT programs. Her PIT interests include working with MSIs to ensure they have the resources they need to do the work they are excited about. Reach her if you’re looking for a thought partner to discuss how to best capitalize on your current research docket: dhir (at) newamerica.org.