Matt Bailey serves as PEN America’s digital freedom program director, focusing on issues ranging from surveillance and disinformation, to digital inclusion that affect journalists and writers around the world.
Bailey previously served as a senior advisor for the National Democratic Institute. Before that, he was a civil servant in the Office of the United States Chief Information Officer under two presidents. While at the White House, Bailey was part of the teams that launched the first-ever U.S. government-wide open source and legislative data initiatives, led its participation in the Open Government Partnership, and led the chief information officer’s policy team.
Previously, Bailey served the city of Washington, D.C., as its first director of technology innovation, launching initiatives to increase civic engagement, adoption of modern software practices, and human-centered design. He was an early employee at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he worked to bridge the agency’s open data and service design strategies. He has also served as a cybersecurity engineer and analyst, a software developer, and was a founder of Code for DC, an affiliate of Code for America. Bailey holds a MA in English literature from Georgetown University.