Interns

Isabelle is a Research Associate at The Future of Free Speech, where she explores the intersection of AI policy and freedom of expression. She is currently a fellow with the Internet Law and Policy Foundry and has previously held roles at ECNL, the DiploFoundation, and the Center for AI and Digital Policy. Isabelle received her B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University. 

While at ECNL, Isabelle worked on a project that tracked industry developments on the use of AI for content moderation and assessed the human rights implications. This fellowship was immensely transformative in shaping her approach to technology and justice.

Ana Sofia’s focus on AI and surveillance policy began when she interned at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) in New York City, and brought her to ECNL as a fellow. Graduating from Barnard College with university distinction in 2025, she majored in Human Rights and Gender Studies with a focus on Feminist Intersectional Science and Technology Studies. In fall 2026, she will begin her Master's in Social Science Research at the University of Amsterdam. While at ECNL, she worked on a study on how AI is reshaping transnational repression, identifying critical policy gaps that bring urgent challenges facing democratic governance, human rights protection and global digital security.

Amari is majoring in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, with a potential minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University. Deeply passionate about leveraging technology to drive social change, at ECNL she helped revise the Framework for Meaningful Engagement in AI through emerging research at the intersection of computer science, data science and tech policy.

Ashwin graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in Data Science and Social Systems, a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE), and interdisciplinary honors in CSRE. He is passionate about protecting the digital rights of immigrants, communities of colour, and other marginalised groups. During his summer 2024 fellowship with ECNL, he interviewed 11 digital rights experts on their successful campaigns against biometric surveillance and co-authored a report outlining effective advocacy strategies that civil society organisations around the world can use to push back against surveillance in their local contexts. In 2025, he returned as a post-graduate AI governance and human rights fellow, and worked on legal research related to the EU AI Act and national security.

Maria is a soon-to-be graduate of the Communication Science Bachelor's at the University of Amsterdam, with a minor in Practical Philosophy. As a communications intern at ECNL, she assisted with copywriting, drafting social media content, reviewing early warning updates, editing impact stories, and provided support for internal communications systems. During her internship, she also conducted a qualitative analysis on the perceptions of students from the LGBTQ+ community on the effectiveness of EU policies, such as the AI Act, against biometric surveillance.

Lila has a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Sociology and Government, and a minor in Inequality Studies, complemented by legal coursework at Cornell University. She is passionate about urban sociology, legal/policy frameworks for human rights, particularly in relation to communities in situations of vulnerability and civic freedoms.

Lila conducted research with ECNL on civil disobedience in both digital and physical spaces, with focus on migrant protest, criminalisation, and international human rights standards, applying her sociology background to complement legal and regulatory analysis.

Julie is a senior at Stanford University studying Computer Science, with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence, and a minor in Political Science. She believes legal principles should actively shape how technology is designed and governed, and works to build systems that make shared boundaries and responsibilities concrete. Her research at ECNL focuses on operationalising international human rights into evaluation benchmarks and technical safeguards for agentic AI systems.