Wren Elhai serves as Senior Advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. In this role, he designs strategic communications campaigns to advance U.S. policy concerning stability and security in cyberspace, international communications and information policy, and the human rights implications of digital technologies. He is a career Foreign Service Officer and has served overseas in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Russia. He has published work on online disinformation, content platform regulation, and civil society’s role in shaping tech policy.
Wren grew up in Richmond, Virginia and holds a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Studies from Swarthmore College and a M.A. in International Cyber Policy from Stanford University. He began his career at the Center for Global Development conducting research on aid effectiveness and the U.S. development strategy in Pakistan. He plays an assortment of stringed instruments, ranging from bluegrass fiddle to the Kazakh kobyz, and spent a year as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow studying vocal music traditions around the world.