We’re thrilled to announce that Emily Sharpe has been appointed as Director of Policy at the World Wide Web Foundation. Emily joins us from Facebook where she was Privacy and Public Policy Manager, until recently leading the company’s privacy policy engagement team in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Trained as a human rights lawyer, she has held legal and research positions with a number of NGOs, human rights law practices and public bodies.

Emily will work with senior colleagues and board members to advance Web Foundation strategic policy goals and lead our advocacy engagement as we aim to ensure that everyone, everywhere can access the free and open web.

Adrian Lovett, Web Foundation President & CEO said:

“Emily has been at the centre of some of the most critical privacy debates of recent years. With experience working with data protection authorities as well as tech firms, she knows how policy decisions get made across sectors. With deep expertise in data privacy, grounded in human rights, her leadership will be crucial as we work to influence governments and companies to promote the web as a public good for everyone.”

Emily will lead a policy team based in Africa, Europe and the United States. She will also be part of the Web Foundation management team, playing a role in setting the organisation’s strategic direction.

On her appointment, Emily said:

“We’re at a critical moment — with the future of the open web, privacy rights, and digital inclusion hanging in the balance. To get the web we want, we need evidence-based advocacy focused on achieving the right policy outcomes: first and foremost, protecting individuals’ fundamental rights. This will require change from governments, companies and all of us as citizens. I’m excited to help lead the Web Foundation’s work in this area.” 

Emily will officially join the team in September. She will take over from interim Policy Director Nnenna Nwakanma who will remain in the Web Foundation leadership team.

For updates about our work, sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter at @webfoundation.

To receive a weekly news brief on the most important stories in tech, subscribe to The Web This Week.