Work
Speaking
talks, panels, testimony
TestimonyTestimony on digital sovereignty
Testified on behalf of BetaNYC to the NYC Commission on Government Efficiency. Cited in the Commission's final report for the recommendation that the City invest in digital sovereignty.
PanelPrivacy in a Post-Roe World
Co-moderated the Privacy in a Post-Roe World panel, with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, at PPI's Women's History Month Forum in the Rayburn House Office Building.
TalkWhy can't the U.S. achieve privacy adequacy with the EU?
Speaker for the Sprite+ Hub for Trust, Identity, Privacy, and Security.
PressPress and interviews
Quoted in Bloomberg and Bloomberg Government on AI and federal technology policy. Featured in the Channel News Asia documentary "The Deepening US-China Tech War".
TalkSchool of Data 2025
Talk at BetaNYC's School of Data 2025, Machine Readable Laws: How LLMs can help democratize NYC Administrative Code, presenting the NYC-Law Language Model (NYCLLM).
Opening remarksUnschool of Data 2026 (opens beta.nyc in a new tab)
Gave the opening remarks at BetaNYC's Unschool of Data 2026, the follow-on day to School of Data where attendees pitch session ideas, vote on the ones they want to join, and build the day's agenda on the spot.
CityCampCityCamp NYC 2025
Managed the session board and facilitated a peer-led unconference session on improving NYC Open Streets at BetaNYC's CityCamp NYC 2025.
CityCampCityCamp NYC 2026
Gave part of the opening remarks at BetaNYC's CityCamp NYC 2026 at Hunter College, where 235 New Yorkers ran forty sessions across ten rooms.
Writing
op-eds, policy, research
Op-ed · The HillProtect everyone's data (opens thehill.com in a new tab)
Op-ed in The Hill, 2022. The internet has no reliable way to check a user's age, and strong protections built only around children's data give hackers a convenient target. Rather than child-only bills, the U.S. needs a universal privacy framework that can be strengthened for children where needed.
Op-ed · The HillPrivacy bills and abortion (opens thehill.com in a new tab)
Op-ed in The Hill, August 2022. Digital privacy laws are not ready for a post-Roe v. Wade future: new bills on the Hill are an important step toward safeguarding Americans' personal data, but they are not a panacea to protect women seeking an abortion or the people supporting them.
Policy · PPIGlobal AI regulation (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
Governments around the world are starting to introduce regulations to ensure that AI is developed and used in a safe, responsible, and ethical manner. This piece unpacks the novel AI regulation in the U.S., EU, Canada, and China, and how each approaches the technology as they balance economic, social, and public priorities with innovation.
Policy · jd-shapiro.comTechnology as a public good
How can algorithmic regulation address government's responsibilities and challenges? One strategy lies in a form of software testing called grey box testing, which protects some of the code while allowing researchers to test the overall architecture and function of the system.
Policy · PPIUK Online Safety Bill (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
Parliament is debating the U.K. Online Safety Bill, which seeks to regulate harmful and illegal content on the internet for children and adults. The latest version fails to strike the right balance on content moderation versus censorship, or on privacy, by requiring users to disclose more personal data and a backdoor into encrypted messaging.
Policy · PPIWhy is digital privacy so complicated? (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
Digital privacy is complicated because it operates on three distinct but interrelated levels: who holds rights to personal data, how that data is technically protected, and the economics of personal information. This paper lays out the privacy models of the United States, Europe, and China, with smaller sections on the United Kingdom, Canada, and India.
Report · PPIInvestment Heroes 2023 (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
Every year, the Progressive Policy Institute analyzes the financial reports of large U.S. companies and ranks them by their capital investment in the United States. The 2023 report tracks the recovery from the pandemic: the 25 companies on the list invested $324 billion in the U.S. in 2022. Lead data analyst.
Blog · PPIImproving government customer service (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
President Biden is set to give his first State of the Union address on March 1. One of Biden's more recent accomplishments that could serve as an enduring theme of his presidency is an executive order quietly passed on December 13, 2021: Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government.
Blog · PPIMobile IDs would serve American consumers better (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
How can we move the humble state driver's license or ID card into the 21st century? They have two major flaws. First, showing identification cards reveals all personal information to the identifier. Second, current state IDs are only usable in-person.
Blog · PPIIncrease chip manufacturing (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
Congress has the opportunity to increase chip manufacturing in the United States through the United States Innovation and Competition Act from the Senate, or the America COMPETES Act from the House. A stalemate over semi-unrelated trade provisions is delaying $52 billion in funding provisioned to increase production in the United States.
Policy · jd-shapiro.comStandards-based approach to AI safety
The Biden Administration's new executive order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence gets it right. For the U.S. to forge its own path, our approach lies on the path of technical standards.
Policy · jd-shapiro.comNavigating the AI frontier
While some advocate a hands-off approach, the stakes are too high for unchecked AI. And here's where Congress has a critical role to play.
Policy · jd-shapiro.comDigital ID, Part 1
Digital identification is coming to America. There is one major problem with digitalization: how to prove who you are online securely. The key solution to this challenge being adopted around the world is the digital ID.
Tech & ops projects
builds, data, operations
Web design & buildWomen's Sports Central
A Flask site and API that pulls together schedules for 168+ women's leagues and competitions across 57 sports.
Web design & buildPresent Moment Enterprises website
Helping a small business move off a website builder to a custom-built website it owns. The goal is a living portfolio: a site the team can keep adding to, so it reflects what the group does and what it values. On the left is the old Wix site, and on the right is the new one.
Custom team workspaceCustom team workspace
A project management system your team will actually use, hosted on your own domain.
Local law chatbotNYC Admin Code Chatbot
A language model that answers questions about NYC local law. Currently covers Titles 8, 9 and 10 of the Administrative Code.
Data analysis and visNYC Public-sector algorithm analysis (opens github.com in a new tab)
NYC law requires city agencies to publish the algorithms they use, the data that goes into them, and the partners behind them. This analyzes the 2022 and 2023 reports.
- Agentic workspace
AI Executive Assistant
17 agents that run daily practices for JD Digitalization and Women's Sports Central, with a governance layer drawn from 21 responsible AI policies.
API data pipelineInvestment Heroes SEC API Data collection (opens progressivepolicy.org in a new tab)
The data collection behind PPI's 2023 Investment Heroes report, which ranks large U.S. companies by how much they invest in the United States. It was the project's first automated pull from SEC filings, replacing the hand collection used in every earlier year.
- Excel PM dashboard
Excel participation dashboard
One Excel workbook that tracks a volunteer group's meetings, event participation, funds raised and attendance.
Community
events and organizing
- Organizing
CityCamp NYC 2025
A one-day unconference hosted by BetaNYC, where attendees propose and run the sessions themselves.
- Organizing
CityCamp NYC 2026
Program manager and volunteer manager for BetaNYC's CityCamp NYC 2026, leading 60 volunteers for 235 New Yorkers at Hunter College. Also gave part of the opening remarks.
- Organizing
School and Unschool of Data 2026
BetaNYC's yearly conference during NYC Open Data Week, where New Yorkers meet the people working on the City's data, technology, and design. The program mixes talks, hands-on workshops, lightning talks, and panels on open data, public interest tech, and better public services. A follow-on day to School of Data with no fixed program. Attendees pitch session ideas, vote on the ones they want to join, and the day's agenda is built on the spot from the results. I managed the volunteers and assisted in organizing the event.
EventsBetaNYC Associate Board
BetaNYC's group of young professional volunteers who host community events, raise money, and bring new people into New York's public interest tech community.
Non-profit workGlobal Student Embassy
A Berkeley nonprofit training young environmental and community leaders in California, Ecuador and Nicaragua. I was Director of Operations, and Travel and Outreach Manager, from 2016 to 2018.
