Team

Will is a social entrepreneur, applied technology executive, and democracy advocate. An alum of President Obama’s first presidential campaign, Will was founding CEO of Groundswell, a social enterprise that makes clean energy accessible to disadvantaged communities in the US. He then led strategy at a Bay Area AI and emerging tech firm, co-founded a Black-led historical justice organization, and led tech and innovation teams at global humanitarian and human rights organizations.

Will is an affiliated scholar at UC Berkeley's CITRIS Lab on Tech in the Public Interest. He's written on AI, emerging tech, and democracy for FastCompany and other publications. Will worked at Der Spiegel and the American Academy in Berlin, and his background in German history and United States politics informs his focus upon deepening democratic resilience worldwide. Will has been honored as an Ashoka Fellow, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Forbes 30 under 30 Entrepreneur,  White House Champion of Change, and Stanford d.School Fellow. He graduated from Vassar College and was raised by a public defender and family physician in Massachusetts.

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Yaas Farzanefar is a data-driven researcher and analyst with deep passion for protecting democracy, human rights, and the public good. Yaas also serves as a researcher at Mnemonic’s Iranian Archive, where she conducts investigations into human rights violations in the country.

She’s led research at UC Berkeley Law's Digital Investigations Lab in partnership with Amnesty International, where she documented human rights abuses. She's also monitored disinformation in the United States in the lead-up to the assault on the January 6th assault on the US Capitol. A native of Iran, Yaas graduated from UC Berkeley with high honors in political science, gender studies and Middle Eastern language and culture. She's a founding member at Middle East Matters, advancing advocacy to Middle Eastern communities.

Anabelle Basterrechea-Jones has worked in public interest law firms and NGOs focused on human and civil rights in Asia (Hong Kong Dignity Institute, Migrasia) and Europe (Redress, Legal Action Worldwide). She served in a leadership role at a pioneering free legal clinic for migrant workers in Hong Kong. She has experience in impact litigation, comparative legal research, and international law, at the intersection of tech law, product innovation, and organizational development.

She holds a BA from SOAS - University of London, a Juris Doctor (JD) from University of Hong Kong, and a Master of Laws (LLM) from University of California Berkeley in Law and Technology. She's a member of the California Bar Association. Anabelle is Cuban-American and is passionate about innovating at the intersection of law and technology to promote free and democratic societies.