Doctoral student wins Google Policy Fellowship to work on technology policy and regulatory reforms

Liz Woolery, a Ph.D. student in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, has been awarded a Google Policy Fellowship to work at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute in Washington, D.C., during summer 2014. 

Woolery was one of 20 chosen to work at 20 U.S. public interest and technology policy organizations. 

According to Woolery, her time this summer will be spent developing best practices for transparency reporting by tech and telecom companies. She will also examine issues related to information gathering and data collection in public places, namely the balance of First Amendment and privacy interests — her dissertation topic.

The New America Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy institute that invests in thinkers and ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the U.S., specifically challenges brought on by the information-age economy.

The Google Policy Fellowship program was inspired by Google’s Summer of Code with a public policy twist. The Google Policy Fellowship program offers undergraduate, graduate and law students interested in Internet and technology policy the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to the public dialogue on these issues, and exploring future academic and professional interests.