Kip Wainscott

Kip Wainscott was a Non-Resident Fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab (2018-2019).

Kip is a senior advisor at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, where he leads the Institute’s presence in Silicon Valley to advance initiatives concerning technology’s impact on democracy around the world. Until early 2017, Kip served in the White House as senior director of cabinet affairs and senior advisor to the Domestic Policy Council, where his portfolio focused on issues related to justice, technology, and opportunity. He was also appointed senior counsel in the Office of Legal Policy, where he worked on the development of federal policies concerning technology, privacy, and other issues of priority to the Attorney General and the Obama administration. After leaving government, Kip helped spearhead the launch of an international startup working to democratize access to the justice system and create pathways for communities to support legal causes. Previously, he practiced law in a leading elections and government ethics practice, and also served as counsel and national delegate director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and has held leadership roles in civic and professional organizations, including the Washington Foreign Law Society and the New Leaders Council. He is based in San Francisco, California.