Alia Shahzad was the Special Assistant to the Co-Directors of the Liberty and National Security Program. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, she interned as a research assistant at Apolitical, a learning platform for civil servants. Alia graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Public Policy and Creative Writing. Her public policy thesis, for which she received an Honors designation, analyzed internet users’ shifting data privacy preferences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.