Model and Strategy
Founded in 2015, TechCongress brings technology expertise into the legislative branch to strengthen policymaking in the digital age. Its mission is to ensure that decisions on issues like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data privacy are grounded in technical understanding and serve the public good, rather than private or partisan interests.
The model is simple but catalytic: TechCongress recruits engineers, computer scientists, and cybersecurity experts who want to serve the public interest, trains them in the legislative process and ethics, and embeds them as fellows on Capitol Hill. Once placed, fellows act as nonpartisan advisors, drafting bills, briefing members, and helping committees understand emerging technologies and their implications. Many remain in government after their fellowship, building long-term institutional capacity.
“Our long-term vision is a nation where lawmakers can tell what’s true and have sufficient tech capacity to separate signals from noise, evaluate AI systems, and craft public policy that makes evidence the default.” — Travis Moore, Founder and Executive Director
What makes TechCongress unique is its focus on legislatures—spaces with immense policy influence but limited technical staff. By filling these critical gaps, TechCongress helps Congress move from reactive to informed, reducing reliance on lobbyists and industry talking points. The organization also maintains a strict bipartisan balance, placing equal numbers of fellows in Democratic and Republican offices and refraining from advocacy positions.
After a decade of success in Washington, TechCongress is now scaling its model through the Legislative Innovation Fellowship Accelerator (LIFA). This initiative helps state legislatures launch their own tech fellowship programs, adapting the proven federal model to the growing number of statehouses shaping AI, privacy, and online safety laws. A pilot in Connecticut has already yielded promising results, including model AI legislation and the creation of state-level technology advisory councils.
TechCongress’s long-term vision is ambitious but achievable: establish 50 sustainable state tech fellowship programs by 2030, creating a permanent pipeline of technologists serving in government at every level, and ensuring public institutions are equipped to govern technology in the public interest.
Impact
TechCongress’s impact is visible in federal policymaking, state pilots, and the growing diversity and influence of its alumni network.
At the federal level, TechCongress has sent 130 technologies into Congress, with fellows and alumni having helped shape many of the major technology policy debates of the past decade. They drafted provisions of the CHIPS Act, allocating $10 billion for regional technology hubs; authored the AI in Government Act, establishing a federal AI strategy; and guided the Open Government Data Act, requiring agencies to release non-sensitive data in machine-readable formats. Fellows have also contributed to the Algorithmic Accountability Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, organized hearings with Sam Altman and Frances Haugen, and supported bipartisan AI forums that continue to inform congressional understanding of emerging technologies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, TechCongress launched the Congressional Digital Service Fellowship, helping establish the first-ever House Digital Service—a permanent unit now funded at $3 million annually. The initiative showed how short-term interventions can build enduring institutional capacity within Congress.
At the state level, TechCongress pilots are demonstrating the promise of this model beyond Washington. In Connecticut, TechCongress' first pilot state, a fellow authored and guided the nation’s first model AI law, created a state technology advisory board, and convened a 47-state working group on AI governance. In Colorado, where a second pilot soon will launch, fellows will help implement the state’s pioneering AI accountability statute. These early efforts show how a small infusion of expertise can strengthen legislative capacity and improve technology governance at the state level.
Diversity and equity are central to TechCongress’s long-term impact. Nearly half of fellows identify as people of color, 45% as women or nonbinary, and 20% as veterans, bringing perspectives often missing from both government and the tech sector. Alumni now serve in senior roles at NIST’s AI Safety Institute, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Federal Trade Commission, and leading civil society organizations. Many describe TechCongress as their first step into public service and a launchpad for careers bridging technology and democracy.
Ultimately, TechCongress measures success not only in bills passed but in institutions strengthened and trust restored. By embedding diverse technical expertise directly where laws are made, it ensures that technology policy reflects the public interest, making government both smarter and more representative in the digital age.
Leadership
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Travis Moore
Founder & Executive Director
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Grace McKinney
Deputy Director
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Mallory Strawn
Chief Operations Officer
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Aleena Khan
Senior Outreach & Program Manager