New Tech & Public Policy visiting fellows bring intersecting expertise in biotech, cyber law and digital policy

The McCourt School of Public Policy’s Tech & Public Policy (TPP) program is pleased to welcome Zeena Nisar, lead policy advisor at the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), Zeve Sanderson, product strategy manager on the Trust team at Google and Katelyn Ringrose, privacy and cybersecurity senior associate at McDermott Will & Emery, for a semester-long term as TPP visiting fellows.

TPP’s fellowship program provides a unique platform for tech policy practitioners across sectors to share their knowledge and expertise with McCourt students and the broader Georgetown community. Visiting fellows host events with policy leaders at the McCourt School and lead site visits to public and private organizations, providing students with coveted opportunities to engage directly with tech policy professionals and learn about the key issues and trends shaping technology policy.

Fellows also connect with McCourt and Georgetown students in small discussion groups designed to spark dialogue and debate. These gatherings invite students to engage directly with the fellows’ expertise while exploring some of today’s most urgent tech policy questions. This semester, the discussions will range from the policy dimensions of biotechnology to how states are shaping digital platform regulation, as well as the complex balance between surveillance, technology and law enforcement access to data.

Meet the visiting fellows

Zeena Nisar

Zeena Nisar is a molecular biologist-turned-policy researcher focused on mitigating the risks of emerging biotechnologies. Nisar is currently a policy advisor for the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology. She was previously a Technology Policy Fellow with the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she supported export controls, international security and China-related policymaking across the United States Department of Defense, the Department of State and the Department of Commerce.

Nisar holds a B.A. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado and an M.S. in global affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Kyrgyzstan, a Schwarzman Scholar, a Special Competitive Studies Project International Strategy Fellow and an Emerging Leader in Biosecurity Fellow.

Katelyn Ringrose

Katelyn Ringrose (she/her) is a privacy and cybersecurity attorney at McDermott Will & Emery, where she helps clients navigate complex issues related to cross-border data flows, sensitive data protection and emerging United States and federal regulations. Prior to joining McDermott, Ringrose served as Google’s Global Policy Lead for Law Enforcement and Government Access, handling issues pertaining to government demands for data. In 2025, she received the International Association for Privacy Professionals Leadership Award for her advocacy in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

As a respected thought leader, skilled writer and advocate, Ringrose frequently speaks on complex data protection topics and her work has been published in a variety of academic journals and publications, including the Berkeley Tech Law Journal, Berkeley Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review and Denver Law Review, as well as online with the Future of Privacy Forum. She holds a B.A. in English and anthropology from the University of California, Davis and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Zeve Sanderson

Zeve Sanderson is a product strategy manager on the Trust team at Google, as well as the founding executive director of the New York University Center for Social Media & Politics, a computational research institute studying the relationship between digital information and society. His research employs experimental and computational methods to study online information diffusion, its political and social impacts and potential interventions to improve digital ecosystems. His work spans social media, generative AI and search engines.

Sanderson has been published in several general science and disciplinary journals, including Nature, PNAS Nexus, Big Data & Society and the Journal of Experimental Political Science. He holds a B.A. from Brown University in political science, an M.A. from New York University in political science and is currently pursuing a doctorate in communication and media studies at VU Amsterdam.

Connecting with our visiting fellows

McCourt School and Georgetown students can soon participate in student discussion groups and book office hours with the fellows. More information will be posted soon on the Tech & Public Policy program page.

The views and positions expressed are solely those of the fellows, and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of any organization with which the fellows are affiliated.