Public Knowledge is pleased to announce three additions and one change to our team. First, Public Knowledge welcomes Sara Collins, Policy Counsel; Alex Petros, Policy Counsel; and Lisa Macpherson, Senior Policy Fellow as new additions to our government affairs and policy teams. They will add depth and experience to our policy analysis and advocacy across the full breadth of issues Public Knowledge is leading on, including digital platform competition, privacy, and misinformation online.
Prior to joining Public Knowledge, Ms. Collins served as a Policy Counsel on Future of Privacy Forum’s Education & Youth Privacy team and specialized in higher education. She also worked as an investigations attorney in the Enforcement Unit at Federal Student Aid, as well as the Director of Legal Services for Veterans Education Success. Ms. Collins graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2014, where she was the symposium editor of the Journal of Gender and the Law, and received a B.A. in both Political Science and English from the University of Illinois.
Mr. Petros worked for Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Richard Blumenthal, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Senator Joe Donnelly prior to joining Public Knowledge. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from Yale College in Economics and Political Science with distinction.
Ms. Macpherson worked as a consumer marketing executive at Fisher-Price, Timberland, Hallmark, and Custom Ink, and as an independent marketing consultant at Pernod Ricard before joining Public Knowledge. Her experience driving digital marketing transformation on behalf of brands led to concerns over the broader impacts of digital technology on individual well being, civil society, journalism, and democracy. She applied to the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, where she is now also a Senior Fellow studying how to mitigate the negative externalities of digital technology. Ms. Macpherson received her B.A. from Colgate University and her M.B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Additionally, Public Knowledge is pleased to announce the promotion of Charlotte Slaiman to Competition Policy Director. Since September of 2018, Ms. Slaiman has focused on contributing to Public Knowledge’s growing work around antitrust and competition policy. As Competition Policy Director, she will take on a greater leadership role in the development of Public Knowledge’s growing platform competition and accountability policy portfolio and will contribute to the organization’s strategic direction.
The following may be attributed to Public Knowledge President & CEO Chris Lewis:
“Sara, Alex, and Lisa bring a great deal of diverse experience and skills to the Public Knowledge team. Sara’s years of work in privacy policy will make her a strong advocate in the ongoing effort to pass a comprehensive privacy bill. Alex’s experience in multiple Senate offices on the Judiciary Committee has prepared him well to support our ongoing antitrust and platform regulation work. Lisa’s deep and unique knowledge of the trends and changes in digital marketing will be a tremendous addition to our work around the impact of digital platforms on the advertising market and news outlets. Public Knowledge continues to lead with expert policy analysis and smart advocacy. These new additions to our team will allow us to cover the growing demand for work around digital platforms, without taking away from our dedication to our traditional work on broadband, intellectual property, and free expression issues.
“I am also pleased to promote Charlotte Slaiman to serve as our Competition Policy Director. Over the last two years, Charlotte has demonstrated great leadership as both a policy expert and as a member of the greater Public Knowledge team. As Competition Policy Director, Charlotte will manage our growing portfolio of platform competition and accountability work. Her policy knowledge and political judgement continues to make her an essential part of our team and a great example for junior staff.”
You may view our staff page for more information on all new hires.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.