Ariana Aboulafia
Policy Counsel, Disability Rights in Technology Policy
Ariana Aboulafia is the Policy Counsel for Disability Rights in Technology Policy, where she leads CDT’s disability rights program. This program focuses on the ways in which certain technologies — including automated employment decision systems used in hiring, algorithmic systems used in making benefits determinations, and more — impact disabled people. Above all, CDT’s disability rights program aims to advance policy that protects the digital and civil rights of people with disabilities.
An attorney with a strong background in public interest advocacy, with particular expertise in disability, technology, criminal law, and the First Amendment, Aboulafia was first introduced to technology while serving as a fellow to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. Later, she worked as an assistant public defender in Miami-Dade County, providing direct representation to clients facing both misdemeanor and felony criminal charges; she has also served as an officer to the Journalism program at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Ariana holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and law, history and culture from the University of Southern California, as well as a J.D. with a concentration in social justice and public interest from the University of Miami School of Law. Her work has been published in Slate and Tech Policy Press as well as several academic journals, and her research has been presented at Yale University and honored by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association.
