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The 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security (51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber) has announced appointments for its policy director and research and academic director. The roles were filled by 51��Ʒ��Ƶ alumna Jessica Kuntz and Associate Professor Yu-Ru Lin, respectively.

Kuntz (GSPIA ’15) joins 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber from the U.S. Department of State, where she most recently served as vice consul at U.S. Embassy London and previously at U.S. Embassy Jerusalem. She also served as an economic officer to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

Kuntz succeeds Chris Deluzio as policy director. Deluzio is now serving his first term in Congress representing Pennsylvania’s 17th district.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber team,” said Kuntz. “Constant and rapid technological innovations are shaping our world and our local communities. It’s critical that policymakers understand these technologies and play a proactive role in ensuring are deployed in a manner that promotes trust, security, and equity.”

Prior to her time at the State Department, Kuntz was a federal government consultant with Deloitte LLP. She was also the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and the David L. Boren Fellowship.

Lin is an associate professor in the Department of Informatics and Networked Systems and a 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber Affiliate Scholar. In her new role as research and academic director, Lin will lead engagement with stakeholders in the university academic community and develop cross-disciplinary research programs with 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber affiliate scholars. 

Lin succeeds political science professor Michael Colaresi, following the conclusion of his term and his appointment as the inaugural Vice Provost for Data Science. Colaresi remains director of the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Disinformation Lab at 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber and a senior scholar of 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber.

“I’m excited to be part of the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber team, said Yu-Ru Lin. “51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber’s deep commitment to impactful, policy-relevant cyber work has proven to be more needed than ever. I look forward to continuing to foster and amplify the exceptional range of cyber-related research across the University.”

Lin studies social and political networks as well as computational and visualization methods for understanding network data. She leads the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Computational Social Dynamics Lab (PISCO LAB). She also serves on the steering committee of the Collaboratory Against Hate, a partnership between the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ and Carnegie Mellon University, and served on 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Cyber’s 51��Ʒ��Ƶsburgh Task Force on Public Algorithms.