Join us on an exploration into the realm of Big Tech careers with Jennifer Kanyamibwa (Jobs for Future, ex-Twitter), Sonia Khan (Google) and Antonia Schmidt (Amazon Web Services), moderated by Puja Raghavan (Hertie School).
As technology's relentless evolution continues to reshape our world, opportunities and challenges abound within the sphere of Big Tech, questions surrounding its impact on society, privacy, ethics, and economics have spurred a vital intersection with public policy. The dynamic relationship between technology and public policy underscores the need to navigate issues such as data privacy, content regulation, anti-trust concerns, and the balance between innovation and accountability. As these pivotal conversations unfold, the fusion of Big Tech and public policy plays a critical role in shaping the present and future of our digital society.
Joining this enlightening discussion are: Sonia Khan, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of Europe, Government Affairs & Public Policy at Google, Jennifer Kanyamibwa, Senior Director of Project Management and Execution at Jobs for Future (JFF), and former Senior Manager at Twitter, and Antonia Schmidt, Senior Manager Public Policy DACH at Amazon Web Services (AWS). They will unravel the multifaceted landscape of careers at a Big Tech and digital policy making.
The event will be moderated by Puja Raghavan from the MPP cohort of 2025, and member of the Centre's Student Advisory Board.
Prior registration is mandatory. The link to the event will be sent on the day of the event.
This event is part of the event series entitled "Career perspectives in digital governance" co-hosted by the Hertie School's Career development team and the Centre for Digital Governance.
Speakers
Jennifer Kanyamibwa is the Senior Director, Project Management and Execution at Jobs for Future (JFF), a leading national non-profit focused on accelerating the transformation of the American workforce and education systems to achieve equitable economic advancement for all. She is also co-founder of Plant Lady Juice Co. a health and wellness company that sources product ingredients from local farmers and crafts juices, teas and elixirs. Prior to JFF, Jennifer was Senior Manager at Twitter leading the Design Program Management team focused on the entire consumer facing product. She holds a Master of International Affairs with a focus on Technology, Media & Communications from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), a Master of Public Policy with a focus on Public Management from Hertie School in Berlin, Germany and a BA in Political Science & Women and Gender Studies from Douglass College at Rutgers University.
Sonia Khan is the Head of Regional Affairs and Special Projects on the Government Affairs & Public Policy Team at Google in Europe. In her current role, she oversees Strategy & Operations for a team of 100+ employees. She works closely with EMEA executive leadership on a range of issues from policy planning and impact measurement to driving the company’s strategic outreach and engagement with governments across the region. Previously, Sonia led policy efforts on YouTube, Google News, copyright, and transatlantic issues in the Germany, Austria & Switzerland region. She recently founded the CIVICA-Google Policy Summer Institute – a unique internship program to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the digital policy ecosystem. Prior to joining Google in 2015, Sonia advocated for government transparency and open data policies, raised venture capital funding for several early-stage startups, and served as an International Parliamentary Scholar in the German Parliament. She received a master of public policy from the Hertie School in Berlin and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Sonia is German-Indian-American, grew up in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Berlin.
Antonia Schmidt is Senior Manager Public Policy DACH at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and supports customers in the public sector and healthcare to use cloud services. Before joining AWS, Antonia Schmidt worked for Bitkom e.V. as Head of Public Sector and as Senior Consultant in PwC's Public Sector Technology Consulting Team. Antonia holds a master's degree from the Stockholm School of Economics and Universidad Adolfo Ibanez and a bachelor's degree from the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Moderator
Puja Raghavan is an Indian lawyer with a political science background who is currently working as a Young Professional on the GovStack project with the Digital Transformation team at GIZ. She is also a Hertie School student and a member of the Student Advisory Board for the Centre for Digital Governance. She has previously worked with a Berlin based GovTech startup that works in the intersection of Government and Technology. Prior to that, she practiced law on the policy and government relations team of a leading law practice in New Delhi, India before joining the Master of Public Policy cohort at the Hertie School.
