April 5:
Chiraag Bains, who formerly worked in the Biden White House, has recently became a senior fellow at the Democracy Fund. Presently, he holds the position of a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Prior to this, he worked as the deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Bains stated in a LinkedIn post that at the Democracy Fund, his focus will be on safeguarding elections and voting rights from AI-driven disinformation. In his post, he mentioned that he will continue to be associated with Brookings, highlighting the significant synergy that exists between both commitments.
According to their website, Democracy Fund is a private foundation that is independent, impartial, and dedicated to promoting an open and just democracy that is able to withstand change and is deserving of the trust of the American people.
He spearheaded the execution of the president's executive order on racial equity and assistance for marginalised communities at the White House. In addition, he played a key role in leading a comprehensive plan regarding artificial intelligence and fairness. This plan resulted in more than 20 initiatives by the government to safeguard workers and consumers against algorithmic prejudice. Furthermore, it coincided with the publication of the Biden administration's "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights."
Bains spearheaded the policy procedures for the president's groundbreaking executive order on police reform and public safety, the momentous pardon of marijuana-possession offences and rescheduling initiative, the nationwide strategy to combat bias in home appraisals, the augmentation of contracting with small, disadvantaged businesses, and the United We Stand summit against hate-fueled violence. In addition, he supervised initiatives to broaden voter registration options, enhance LGBTQI+ rights, protect disability rights, and allocate funds for Native American communities.
Prior to his tenure in the White House, he served as the director of Legal Strategies at Demos, a prominent national public policy organisation. In this role, he spearheaded voting rights litigation and advocacy efforts around the United States. Prior to that, Bains held positions as a senior fellow at Harvard Law School and at the Open Society Foundations. In addition, he worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, initially as a prosecutor handling cases related to civil rights offences, and later as a senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General. He was a member of the team that conducted an investigation and filed a lawsuit against Ferguson, Missouri, for violations of constitutional rights. He served as a law clerk for Judge Karen Nelson Moore on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Nancy Gertner in the District of Massachusetts. He obtained degrees from Yale College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School.
