Joe Riley is the Chief Executive Officer at Project Liberty and Project Liberty Labs where he leads the team building solutions that empower individuals to exercise greater autonomy and control over their data, translating principles into practical, consumer-facing solutions.

Outside of his position at Project Liberty, he is the Chief Financial and Operating Officer at McCourt Global. He joined the McCourt enterprise in 2019 and oversees the financial management of McCourt’s portfolio in Europe and the United States. He previously served as Managing Member and Chief Administrative Officer of the Psilos Group, a healthcare-focused private equity firm. There, he oversaw finance and treasury operations, fundraising and investor relations, regulatory compliance, infrastructure, and administration. Joe spent six years at PwC, where he served as a key accounting partner to Apollo, advising them on buyout transactions in the healthcare and media sectors.

He holds a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS from Georgetown University.

Sophie is a program and project management professional with a background in social justice and community organizing. As the Program Associate at Project Liberty Institute, Sophie primarily supports governance and strategic partnerships, advancing the participation of citizens and consumers in the design and operation of data-driven technologies. In particular, she manages academic partnerships and grants.

Before joining Project Liberty Institute, Sophie worked for a D.C.-based nonprofit. In her role, she supported national and statewide campaigns on voting rights, racial justice, parole reform and environmental justice, developing trainings and events to mobilize communities to action.

Sophie holds a Master’s degree in Project Management from UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School and a B.A. in Justice & Peace Studies from Georgetown University with a concentration in Education & Justice.

Project Liberty Institute, Research Manager of Strategic Insights

Sarah Nicole is a governance specialist bridging the technical and policy worlds of emerging technologies. She has shaped tech policy at Microsoft during France’s EU presidency in 2022 and supported Huawei’s public affairs and cybersecurity strategy. She frequently publishes and speaks publicly on the governance of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, decentralized systems, quantum computing, and immersive environments. She serves as an Expert Next Generation of Emerging and Critical Digital Technologies for the European Commission, and a Point of contact Data Governance for the Internet Technical Advisory Committee at the OECD. Sarah Nicole also dedicated a decade to leading Graine d’Orateur 93, a nonprofit equipping students with rhetoric and critical thinking skills. This led her to co-create “J’Aime à Dire,” France’s first public television program giving young people a platform to debate without competition.

As Policy & Research Manager at Project Liberty Institute, Sarah designs governance frameworks for open protocols such as the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) alongside Internet pioneers. Through strategic international initiatives, she advances human-centered data governance and business models. She works closely with governments and international organizations to help shape better digital systems for citizens.

Her international experience spans Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Boston, Shanghai, and Washington D.C. She holds Master’s degrees from Sciences Po in European Affairs and Digital Policy, and from Shanghai JiaoTong University in International Relations, with executive education from MIT and Kyoto University.

Paul Fehlinger is Senior Director of Policy, Investment & Innovation at Project Liberty Institute, where he leads global strategic initiatives at the intersection of capital, entrepreneurship, and governance to shape the future of the AI and data economy. He works with institutional LPs, venture investors, family offices, founders, and policymakers across North America, Europe, and Asia to advance investment frameworks, governance models, and incentives that influence how technology is built and scaled.

His insights on tech, investment, and governance have been featured by The Economist, The New York Times, Politico, Fortune, New Private Markets, ImpactAlpha, or Mary Meeker. He frequently speaks at leading investor, policy, and technology forums, including SuperVenture, Private Equity International, FRAME, Norrsken Impact Week, and the AI Action Summit. He has served on advisory groups for the World Economic Forum and other international initiatives. He is also the publisher of VC+POLICY and works with Harvard and the Hertie School on venture and regulated markets.

Previously, Paul spent over a decade as an entrepreneur, co-founding and scaling a pioneering global multistakeholder platform for cross-border digital markets, partnering with senior leaders across governments, leading technology companies, and institutions, including the UN, OECD, EU, and G7.