I am a researcher, policy analyst, and public interest technologist.

I work with industry, policymakers, civil society, and governments around the world to address a range of technology issues, from technical standards to policy development. As a former Mozilla Fellow and a graduate of the London School of Economics, I support technological innovation with a focus on social impact.

In addition to researching, writing, podcasting, and engaging with stakeholders, I manage grants and provide expert comments to the media, publish articles, and chair panels and working groups.
Headshot - Ayden Férdeline

What I've recently worked on:

A complete list of projects is available upon request.

Forum on Information and Democracy logo

Lead rapporteur

Managed two rapporteurs and conducted 83 expert interviews in three months to guide a working group exploring the recommender systems used by search engines and social media platforms.

National Democratic Institute logo

Qualitative research

Conducted a landscape analysis of areas where civil society in the Global South could have more of an impact within Internet governance coordination bodies.

Starling Lab logo

Strategy development

Elevated early-stage ideas and created agile, adaptable strategies and roadmaps for inclusion in this organization's first annual report and fundraising plan.

Projects I'm incubating:

Documenting Internet governance history
Research and communications

Through the POWER PLAYS podcast, I interview retired policymakers, engineers, and business leaders who in the 1990s and 2000s  influenced the Internet's infrastructure and institutions in ways which continue to impact all of us.

Cultivating a coalition of public interest technologists
Community building

Through the Public Interest Technologists Network — a coalition of alumni of Mozilla, Ford Foundation, and Media Democracy Fund fellowship programs — I fundraise, organize events virtually and in-person, and build strategic partnerships between public interest technologists around the world in order to grow the pipeline of talent working in the responsible tech field.

Queering the Internet
Research and advocacy

I foster dialogue, encourage diverse perspectives, and generate proposals and solutions that promote LGBT+ inclusion and fairness within Internet governance initiatives, including the UN's global Internet Governance Forum.

Bringing the voices of labor into the Global Digital Compact
Capacity development

As a Landecker Democracy Fellow with Humanity in Action in partnership with the Alfred Landecker Foundation, I bring traditionally-excluded voices from the labor organizing space into one emerging space in the wider Internet governance arena: 2024’s Summit of the Future.

Copyright 2023 Ayden Férdeline