Monique élan Priestley
Legislator // Technologist // Systems Thinker // Connector // Speaker // Gamer
I craft technology policy in the Vermont Legislature, after two decades working at the intersection of tech teams and the people they build for. I have always spanned multiple worlds. My paid work has been in technology, and all of my “free” time has been dedicated to serving nonprofits and the public sector. For a long time I thought of those as two separate lives, and at some point I realized they were the same one. The technical work taught me how these systems actually get built, and who gets left out of the room when they are. The nonprofit and municipal work taught me what it looks like on the receiving end, and how much of it lands on people with no way to push back.
TECHNOLOGY
Twenty four years. UX and frontend development, data migrations, and product leadership on a full platform rebuild for a SaaS company. The recurring role was translating across teams: making sure sales was talking to engineering, and that engineering was hearing what customers actually needed.
POLICY
Vermont State Representative since 2023. Lead sponsor on the state’s comprehensive data privacy legislation, its data broker law updates, and its Age-Appropriate Design Code. Vice Chair of Joint Information Technology Oversight. Co-chair of the Future Caucus National Task Force on AI Policy, and a seat on several multi-state task forces.
BUILDING
Founded and built a nonprofit community workspace in an empty Bradford storefront and ran it for just under a decade. Chaired the boards of Vital Communities and Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation. More than two dozen boards and commissions.
CONNECTING
I spend most of my time learning from technologists, compliance lawyers, academics, civil society, ethicists, journalists, regulators, and lawmakers across the United States and in the EU. Then I introduce them to each other. Good policy depends on that pool growing, and on someone knowing what piece each person holds.
TEACHING & SPEAKING
A ten-week business accelerator, a nine-week citizens’ academy, a semester as an adjunct at Northern Vermont University. I speak on privacy, AI regulation, youth online safety, and lobbying, from the National Press Club to the IAPP Global Privacy Summit to law school classrooms.
CONTACT