The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is pleased to announce Mallory Knodel and Bernard Shen as the new co-Chairs of the FOC Advisory Network (AN).
Mallory and Bernard were elected by the Advisory Network (FOC-AN) following an internal election process, and will hold their roles until March 2020. They will be taking over from the interim co-Chairs of the FOC-AN, Matthew Shears and Katharine Kendrick,who continue to be Members of the Network.
Speaking on her new role, Mallory expressed her intention to “continue the work of the previous co-Chairs to foster trust and transparency within the FOC”. Mallory additionally noted she looks forward to “bringing the AN and the FOC Members closer through practical coordination activities such as human-centric cybersecurity policy and human rights considerations in algorithmic decision making.”
Regarding his role as co-Chair, Bernard noted that he would focus his energy on cultivating open-minded discussions, the sharing and understanding of perspectives, concerns and goals within the AN in order to build and provide consensus recommendations to support informed deliberation of key issues by the FOC.
The co-Chairs election process was guided by stakeholder group balance, gender balance, geographic balance, relevant expertise, and commitment to the values of the FOC, as mandated by FOC-AN’s Terms of Reference.
The FOC’s Advisory Network was designed to enhance the Coalition’s multistakeholder engagement, including through providing advice on aims, objectives and activities of the Coalition, as well as to support its mission of advancing Internet freedom and human rights online.
The FOC congratulates the new co-Chairs on their positions and wishes them success in the year ahead.
For more detail about Mallory and Bernard, as well as the FOC Advisory Network and its list of members click here.
