Kaylee Williams

From the outset, my career path has been guided by a profound desire to support journalism that exposes injustice and promotes positive social change. This passion brought me to ICFJ, where I draw upon a wide range of methodological skills to support the research team across various projects focused on press freedom, the future of journalism and protecting against online violence.

My background: My previous experience includes a mix of academic research, nonprofit support and journalism. I began my career as a technology journalist covering social media platforms and digital culture, and then quickly made my way into the nonprofit sector, where I mainly worked in support of local newsrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. From there, I made my way back into academia, where my research has broadly centered around the intersections of mass media, technology and American politics ever since. Most recently, as a research fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, I played a key role in research projects examining the spread of political disinformation, far-right movements and targeted harassment campaigns on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and 4chan.

I have a master’s degree in political science from Columbia University, where I am also pursuing my PhD in communications.

Ask me about: Fantasy novels, San Francisco, and tech policy

My pronouns: She/her