Speakers

Tess serves as Special Assistant for Artificial Intelligence, advising the NSF Acting Director on AI policy issues and working across the agency to facilitate collaboration on AI initiatives. In addition, she holds the position of Strategic Advisor for Technology Policy and Strategy within the Foundation’s directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.

Prior to stepping into these roles, she spent two years as a Senior Policy Advisor within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). While at OSTP, she led policy efforts focused on strengthening the nation’s AI innovation ecosystem and co-chaired the National AI Research Resource Task Force. She also led the development of the National Strategy to Advance Privacy Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics and the National AI Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2023 Update. Before joining OSTP, Tess served as Director for Research and Analysis at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). She has also spent time as Chief of Staff at the Atlantic Council, at U.S. Special Operations Command, and in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.