Mariana Rozo-Paz

Mariana Rozo-Paz is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar pursuing the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy at Stanford University, specializing in AI, Cyber, and Technology Policy. She leads the AI Trust Stack KHeystone Project in collaboration with Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) Cognitive Security Task Force, exploring how to strengthen human connection in the age of AI. Her work focuses on developing the policies, tools, and collaborations needed to ensure that data-driven technologies strengthen democracy, build trust across borders, and advance responsible and sustainable digital transformation.

Mariana has seven years of experience at the intersection of digital governance and public policy, spanning the Colombian public sector, legal practice, and international development. She is a Senior Fellow at the Datasphere Initiative, where she previously served as Policy, Research, and Project Management Lead. She has coached and trained governments across regions in establishing sandboxes for emerging technologies and pioneered the first-ever Sandbox Summer School to equip policymakers worldwide with practical tools for experimentation and agile governance. She has also led global policy engagement at high-level international forums, including the United Nations, G20, and the Vatican, and created Youth4Data, an award-winning initiative engaging young people from more than 40 countries in shaping data and technology governance, including through engagement with UNICEF.

Previously, at Data-Pop Alliance, Mariana collaborated with partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to mobilize resources and enhance data-for-development initiatives in these regions. At Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, she developed the Inclusion Assessment Framework for digital identity systems. She also co-founded Boldea, an initiative equipping young people with the skills for responsible digital citizenship and human connection, and taught emerging technologies and public policy at Universidad de los Andes, where she co-founded the Tech & Policy Lab. Earlier, as a researcher at Stanford Law School, she worked on a project using natural language processing to analyze international anti-corruption frameworks.

Mariana graduated summa cum laude in Law and Government and Public Affairs from Universidad de los Andes and pursued advanced studies in data and AI governance at Sciences Po, the University of Chicago, and KU Leuven. Outside of work, she enjoys musical theatre, dancing, hiking, discovering new restaurants, and deep chats about building a kinder, more caring, and more connected world.