James Maroney was first elected to represent the 14th District (Milford) in 2018.

Senator Maroney currently serves as the Co-Chair of the General Law Committee.  In his time as co-chair of the committee, he has passed comprehensive consumer data privacy laws, children and consumer health data privacy laws, a law governing state government use of AI, laws modernizing and expanding the practice of pharmacy in Connecticut, among others.

Recently Senator Maroney was named to the inaugural Leadership Council of the Future of Privacy Forum Center for Artificial Intelligence. Senator Maroney’s work on tech legislation has been recognized nationally.

Prior to politics, Sen. Maroney founded and ran an educational consulting business in Milford.  In addition, he was a past president and founding member of the Milford Education Foundation and served on the Milford Board of Education. A proud and active participant in the community, he is a member and past president of the Devon Rotary, where he chaired the scholarship committee for years.

Prior to a successful career in public service, State Senator Maroney attended Yale (Class of 96), where he was a 3-time varsity letter winner in both track and field and cross-country. In his senior year, he was elected captain of the track and field team and was awarded the Yale Men’s Cross-Country Award for Performance and Dedication. He graduated from Jonathan Law High School of Milford in 1992.

Senator Maroney lives in Milford with his wife Jennifer and his son Jay.

Nishant Shah is Senior Advisor for Responsible AI for the State of Maryland, leading the state's work to cohere and execute an AI strategy centered on responsible, ethical, and productive use. Prior, he was a product leader on Meta’s Responsible AI team, with previous stints at Amazon, the White House’s US Digital Service, and Refunite, a mobile tech nonprofit in East Africa. He received his Master’s from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs, and resides in Washington, DC with his wife and fierce Mini Bernedoodle Judo.

Erin McKinney is Principal Policy Counsel for AWS State, Local and Education Public Policy. Erin is currently focused on state legislative efforts related to artificial intelligence and other technology policy matters, regularly interacting with internal and external stakeholders and policymakers. Before pivoting to focusing on tech policy, Erin previously worked on the AWS Tax team, as the State and Local Tax Legal Advisor at IBM and a Senior Associate at Grant McCarthy Group LLC. She holds a JD from Pace University and a BA in Gender Studies and Communication from Loyola University Chicago.

Howie Altman is the CEO of Perceiver AI and the Managing Partner of Actualize.

He co-founded Perceiver AI, where their mission is to elevate the science of artificial intelligence. With the goal to have a meaningful and massive impact on industries and the world’s toughest problems, especially those for which neural network based technologies are not well suited.  Perceiver generates optimal AI based algorithms and models without the need to pre-analyze data. It also provides full transparency into the "thought process" that generates output because the algorithms and models are delivered as code, which can be immediately used in any software or hardware application.

He also co-founded Actualize in 2018, a unique and affordable NYC based consultancy, after seeing the large gap that existed in the startup market -- whereby too many great ideas failed to win because of a dearth of experienced, highly capable technical co-founders and CTOs.  Today, they serve as fractional CTOs and deliver high caliber product engineering teams to some of the most revolutionary startups.

Howie is a business driven technology executive and entrepreneur possessing proven expertise, an exceptional track record spanning 20 years, and the ability to align technology with business priorities.  He is also a visionary manager and leader with a rare aptitude for turnarounds and transformations including proven leadership shaping and growing teams of up to 200.

Chris Davis is vice president of public policy, leading CBIA’s advocacy team of in-house and contract lobbyists at the state Capitol.

He oversees the planning and execution of public policy strategy and initiatives to strengthen CBIA’s mission to boost Connecticut’s economic competitiveness and growth while providing opportunities for all residents.

Davis previously represented the General Assembly’s 57th House District (East Windsor and Ellington) for five terms from 2011 to 2021, serving as assistant leader and ranking member of the key Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.

Known for his willingness to work collaboratively in a bipartisan manner to achieve meaningful policy reforms throughout his tenure in the legislature, Davis was one of the architects of the 2017 bipartisan fiscal reforms that led to the state’s current fiscal strength.

Prior to CBIA, Davis served as manager of public affairs for the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, overseeing the quasi-public agency’s government affairs and public relations activities.

Davis earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Connecticut, and has previously served as an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Bridgeport.

Bill Yousman, is a Professor in the Communication and Media Department at Sacred Heart University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media studies and political communication. He earned his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His research focuses on media and the construction of ideology, media literacy, media and race, and the relationship between media and democracy. His scholarship has been published in many academic journals and edited volumes. Dr. Yousman’s monographs include Prime Time Prisons on U.S. TV: Representation of Incarceration and The Spike Lee Enigma: Challenge and Incorporation in Media Culture, and he is a co-editor of the award-winning anthology series Gender, Race and Class in Media.  He has presented his work at numerous regional, national, and international conferences, and he is a regular panelist on WNPR's The Colin McEnroe Show.

Cody Venzke is a Senior Policy Counsel in the ACLU's National Political Advocacy Department, working on issues in surveillance, privacy, and technology. Cody focuses on comprehensive consumer privacy legislation, safe and nondiscriminatory AI, children's privacy, and civic uses of data. He is an author of a treatise published by LexisNexis on education data and student privacy.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Cody worked as a Senior Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where he worked on student privacy and civic technology. He also served as an Attorney Advisor and Honors Attorney at the Federal Communications Commission and clerked for federal judges on the Third Circuit and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Cody previously worked as a litigator with an international law firm, where he served clients in emerging technologies such as clean energy, medicine, and media. In his pro bono work, Cody has represented tenants in eviction actions and assisted applicants under the U visa program. Prior to starting his law career, Cody taught math at a large public high school in Houston, Texas through Teach For America.

Cody graduated from Stanford Law School and St. Olaf College.

Diya Wynn is a technology leader who has been on the cutting edge of every major digital transformation. With over 25 years of experience spanning the internet, ecommerce, social media, mobile, cloud and now AI, she brings that breadth of expertise to her approach to the intersection of emerging technology and humanity. As Responsible AI Lead at AWS who started and led customer engagement globally on Responsible AI. In her role, she focuses on helping organizations mitigate risks and uncover potential unintended impacts related to AI’s development, deployment, and use. She has provided responsible AI information for legislators and policymakers to help shape imminent AI regulation and policy. Earlier in her career, she worked in early-stage companies to scale products for acquisition, and in consulting. She is an author and international speaker; serves on non-profit boards; volunteers with multiple organizations; and guest lectures on responsible and inclusive technology.

In 2023, she was named one of Business Insider’s top 15 people in Enterprise AI and top 100 people in AI and one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics^TM. She also received VentureBeat Women in AI’s Responsible AI award. When she isn’t working hard on the future of AI, she’s working hard to influence the future. This starts at home with her two sons but extends to her dozens of mentees, whom she encourages to color outside the lines, defy the odds, and redefine boundaries. 

Diya studied Computer Science at Spelman College, the Management of Technology at New York University, and AI & Ethics at MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard University Professional School. 

Christina Harrington (she/her) is a designer and qualitative researcher who works at the intersection of interaction design and health and racial equity. She combines her background in electrical engineering and industrial design to focus on the areas of universal, accessible, and inclusive design. Specifically, she looks at how to use design in the development of products to support historically excluded groups such as Black and LatinX communities, older adults, and individuals with differing abilities in maintaining their health, wellness, and autonomy in defining their future. Christina is passionate about using design to center communities that have historically been at the margins of mainstream design. She looks to methods such as design justice and community collectivism to broaden and amplify participation in design by addressing the barriers that corporate approaches to design have placed on our ability to see design as a universal language of communication and knowledge. Dr. Harrington is the Director of the Equity and Health Innovations Design Research Lab.

Senator Bob Duff represents Connecticut’s 25th Senatorial District, which includes Norwalk and Darien. Re-elected to the State Senate in 2020, he was chosen by his Senate colleagues in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 to serve as Senate Majority Leader.

Bob has earned a reputation as a consumer watchdog. As Chair of the legislature’s Housing Committee, he created the state’s first Housing Trust Fund to build more affordable housing in Connecticut. As Chair of the Banking Committee, Bob worked to safeguard Connecticut homeowners from the ravages of predatory lending by creating a package of first-in-the-nation reforms to reduce the number of home foreclosures in the state. Included was the foreclosure mediation program, Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program (the first iteration to the federally recognized and nationally acclaimed Platform to Employment program) to help those unemployed or underemployed avoid foreclosure and a law that provides tools to municipalities ensuring lenders maintain their vacant properties.

Bob’s consumer advocacy continued as he went on to Chair the Energy and Technology Committee. As Chair, Bob championed two major pieces of energy legislation which taken together implement a new comprehensive energy strategy for Connecticut: restructuring support for renewable sources of electricity to provide for cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy for consumers and businesses. Bob also supported the nation’s first cybersecurity report by a state government relating to safeguarding our electric grid and water utilities.

Under Bob’s tenure as Majority Leader, he is most proud of his role in 2017 leading the rewrite of the state’s decades-old education funding formula to better help children in our urban centers and those who live in poverty and when English is not the student’s primary language.

In addition, the Senate Democratic caucus with Bob has achieved numerous legislative victories. Most recently, the caucus passed legislation standing up for DREAMers, the National Popular Vote, net neutrality, data privacy, health care access, Time’s Up, gun safety, LGBTQ rights, equal pay for equal work, raising the minimum wage and Paid Family Medical Leave.

Bob has been a real estate professional with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty for 25 years. Prior to his election to the Senate, Bob represented Norwalk’s 137th Assembly District for three years.

Bob, his wife, Tracey, and their two children live on Toilsome Avenue in Norwalk with their rescue dog, Molly.

Cassandra Madison is a devoted public servant with twenty years of experience helping build the government's capacity to deliver technology effectively and serve its constituents with integrity and empathy. Throughout her career, Cass has played a key role in transforming ambitious ideas into practical solutions that improve service delivery. Her superpowers are bringing order to chaos and building connective tissue between big policy ideas and the teams and infrastructure it takes to implement them successfully. Cass currently serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Center for Public Sector AI, a nonprofit that equips health and human services leaders with the knowledge, tools, and expertise they need to explore emerging tech safely and effectively. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Madison Insights, a consulting practice that helps mission driven organizations build their capacity to deliver tech that improves the lives of the people they serve. 

Cass spent 5 years as Vice President of Partnerships at the Tech Talent Project, where she worked to strengthen the government's ability to recruit, retain, and empower a modern technical workforce.  Cass previously served as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), leading the turnaround of the state’s Health Insurance Exchange and its Integrated Eligibility Program. She earned her BA in Political Science and Women's Studies from Penn State University, with a minor in Information Sciences and Technology. She has also served as a Non-Resident Fellow at New America's New Practice Lab, and her transformative work in Vermont was highlighted in "Power to the Public."

Theodora (Theo) Skeadas is the Chief of Staff at Humane Intelligence, a nonprofit focused on algorithmic assessments. She is also the CEO of Tech Policy Consulting, where she works on AI governance and online safety issues, and she is a Community Policy Manager at DoorDash, where she builds company-wide trust and safety policies. Previously at Twitter, she managed the Trust and Safety Council, a research hub, and a trusted flaggers program for human rights defenders, and she supported global civic integrity, transparency, and crisis response efforts. Before, she worked in national security at Booz Allen Hamilton, examining public sentiment, social movements, and disinformation using social media for the U.S. Federal Government. Previously, she worked with nonprofits in Morocco, Turkey, Greece, and Costa Rica. She has an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Harvard College. She has language experience in French, Modern Greek, Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Turkish, Moroccan Arabic, and Spanish. 

Victoria Houed is an engineer turned policy entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to improving the tech policy ecosystem and government modernization. She is currently the Director of AI Policy and Strategy within the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce and Senior Advisor at the POPVOX Foundation. She was previously a manager at Schmidt Futures where she funded key science and technology policy initiatives and educated relevant stakeholders on how to best advocate for their policy ideas in the legislative and executive branches.

Before joining Schmidt Futures, Victoria worked as a TechCongress congressional innovation fellow for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi where she supported Pelosi during the COVID crisis on all things technology (including broadband, disinformation, antitrust and more). She started her career as a software engineer at Cards Against Humanity and founded BlackByte, a nonprofit for Black women in technology.