Logan Arkema

Who are you? Tell us about yourself!

My name is Logan Arkema and I’m a freshly-minted Double Hoya working at the intersection of technology and policy. I’m primarily a technologist by training and at my day job, but my work as a government auditor also gets to touch on a lot of interesting technology policy and legal issues. I’m also a union rep for the GAO Employees Organization (IFPTE Local 1921), an open-source software contributor, and the sole proprietor of DCTransistor.com, a small business selling open-source LED boards of the DC Metro System. I graduated Georgetown University with a double major in Computer Science and Political Science before joining GAO.

Congratulations on winning this year’s Westin Award! Can you tell us the most interesting privacy issues you studied or projects you worked on at Georgetown?

Thank you! It’s always hard to pick the most interesting privacy issue I worked on at Georgetown, but I enjoyed finding ways to bring a privacy lens to the classes that weren’t focused on privacy. In my last semester, I got to write an interesting (to me at least) paper for a Week One course on Generative AI and Free Speech about how some of the technical nuances behind Privacy Enhancing Technologies may or may not be fully considered in current AI policy discussions, and how rushing to regulate without understanding AI beyond “it needs a lot of data” could lead to bad outcomes, if not First and Fourth Amendments problems for the constitutionality of those regulations. While not done at Georgetown Law, I’d also be remiss not to plug the Residue-Free Computing project I worked on with the Computer Science Department.

What drew you to Georgetown’s Master of Law and Technology (MLT) program?

Funnily enough, standing decisions over a small section of government privacy law. While doing background research for a GAO audit (now GAO-22-105065), I came across a series of court decisions that stopped legal challenges under a small section of privacy law I was looking at from being heard on the merits. Those cases got me interested enough that I figured I’d have to go to law school to fully appreciate them. The MLT program specifically drew me in because it let me get a robust legal education without the full commitment of law school, attend a law school with an incredibly strong technology curriculum, and go to school a few blocks from my office.

What has your experience been like working with the Government Accountability Office?

My experience at GAO has been fantastic! It’s been the number one mid-size agency to work at for four years running, and that certainly isn’t by accident. One of the reasons it’s a great place to work is a strong, member-led Union (though I’m quite biased on that point), but in no small part it’s because of the incredible, smart, and supportive people I work with and the interesting work I get to do. I can’t think of another place to work where I get to set my schedule around my daytime classes, spend time “hands on keyboard” building and securing some of our internal systems, and work on government-wide cybersecurity and privacy challenges as an analyst. I would certainly recommend GAO to anyone early in their career looking for a public-interest job.

What has been your favorite class at Georgetown Law?

Again, hard to pick a favorite, but I would say “We’ve Been Hacked!: Strategic Responses to Data Breach” with Marc Groman. Coming from a technical incident response background to a law class dedicated to the topic was both immediately practical and a useful empathy-building exercise for when lawyers and cybersecurity professionals go into a room with very different perspectives and priorities.

What interests do you have outside of law and technology?

Games of almost any variety, but particularly tabletop roleplaying games at the moment. Dungeons & Dragons was my main weekly respite between work, class, and readings — though I’ve had to apologize to my incredible Dungeon Master more than once for bringing out the inner “rules lawyer” during gaming sessions.

The opinions expressed in this spotlight are Logan’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the US Government Accountability Office.

Nina-Simone Edwards

Who are you? Tell us about yourself!

I am a recent Georgetown Law graduate and a 2023-2024 IAPP Westin Scholar! Starting in July, I will be a Senior Institute Associate at the Tech Institute, where I will contribute to the Redesigning the Governance Stack project. I am extremely interested in all things privacy and look forward to a legal academic career exploring what privacy means for historically disadvantaged communities.

Congratulations on winning this year’s Westin Award! Can you tell us the most interesting privacy issues you studied or projects you worked on at Georgetown?

I was fortunate to serve as a Research Assistant and later as a Fritz Family Fellow at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown. I helped with the Cop Out event, a worker surveillance project, and a DNA/Fourth Amendment project, all of which were rewarding and educational experiences. Additionally, I was part of the Technology Impact Lab, where my team helped the Colorado Attorney General’s office understand the real-world applications of their newly enacted privacy law. We focused on children’s privacy and discovered that many apps and websites did not adequately prioritize privacy for kids. I also worked on a side project replicating an Accountable Tech study on phone privacy and location history. While in school, I wrote two notes (one published and one pending publication): one on the lack of privacy rights for noncitizens in the U.S. and another on how Terry stops frequently violate the privacy of African Americans. I also wrote a small article on potential constitutional protections for communicative evidence, with a focus on privacy, in the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Magazine.

What have you enjoyed most about the tech and policy experiences offered at Georgetown Law?

I entered law school with the intent to become an immigration attorney but soon realized I wasn’t emotionally equipped for that work. Through my research assistantship with Professor Amanda Levendowski, I was introduced to the intersection of technology and law and discovered that I could still support historically disadvantaged communities through academic analysis and advocacy for their rights. I then became as involved as I could. I was a student attorney in the Intellectual Property and Information Policy Clinic, a member and later managing editor of the Georgetown Law Technology Review, and I enrolled in as many tech-related classes as I could. Beyond the welcoming community, I appreciated the limitless opportunities for tech and policy experiences at Georgetown Law. I learned to code, attended a variety of fun and educational events, and discovered that privacy spans nearly every area of law and is a universal right everyone should understand and have.

What was your favorite part about working with the Georgetown Law Technology Review?

I joined the Georgetown Law Journal and the Georgetown Law Technology Review simultaneously but chose to take on a larger leadership role with GLTR because I genuinely enjoyed working on each piece we edited. My broad interest in tech law and policy allowed me to enjoy both privacy-specific articles and those with a strong technological focus, as there was always something new to learn. Working with the best Editor-in-Chief ever, Sherry Tseng, and my fellow Managing Editors, Bre de Vera and Sydney Brinker, was an absolute pleasure.

What has your experience been like working as a Google Public Policy Fellow? What does your work encompass?

As a Google Public Policy Fellow at TechFreedom, I contribute to various research and writing projects, and it has been great to use the research and writing skills gained in law school. Over the past few years, I have enjoyed working with different tech policy organizations to learn about tech policy from the organizations that are on the ground, doing the work.

What interests do you have outside of law?

I’m a Zumba instructor, teaching classes on Georgetown Law’s campus (come dance with me!). I also play piano in my church’s band and occasionally audition for plays and musicals. I love reading fiction and am a bookstagrammer, which means I receive free books and post about them on Instagram! I also have a passion for plants and enjoy boxing a few times a week.