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Program Management Team
Donna Obeid

Donna Obeid

Senior Research Program Manager

Donna Obeid serves as Senior Research Program Manager for the Hoover Institution’s Technology Policy Accelerator, managing strategic initiatives that bridge emerging technology and policy. With over a dozen years of experience at Stanford, she has led the development of high-impact custom programs for the Graduate School of Business and the School of Engineering. Beyond her role in research and policy, Donna is an award-winning writer with more than thirty publications. She holds a BA with honors from the University of Michigan and a dual MA/MFA from American University, where she was a teaching fellow. Her international background includes serving as a two-year visiting scholar in Southeast Asia.

Elena Demas

Elena Demas

Program Manager, NSAF & TPA

Elena Demas serves as a Program Manager at the Hoover Institution, where she oversees operations for both the National Security Affairs Fellows (NSAF) program and the Technology Policy Accelerator (TPA). A key member of the management team, Elena drives the strategic planning and execution of high-level programming, ensuring the seamless delivery of all initiatives.

Shila Cedron

Shila (Lucila) Cedron

Program Assistant

Shila Cedron has 17 years of experience at Stanford University, specializing in customer service and administrative support. Over the past two years, she has provided valuable assistance to teams and senior fellows at the Hoover Institution. Currently, Shila serves as a Program Assistant at the Technology Policy Accelerator, where she works directly with Donna Obeid. In this role, she supports a variety of initiatives and events, contributing to the advancement of technology policy.

Emerson Johnston

Emerson Johnston

Research Assistant

Emerson Johnston is a Research Assistant at the Hoover Institution’s Technology Policy Accelerator, where she works with the Tech Futures Lab as well as on research related to the intersection of emerging technologies and talent ecosystems and its impact on national security. She is currently on leave from Stanford’s MA program in the History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine, where her thesis examines how institutional and historical legacies have shaped the framing of the internet as a telecommunications system rather than a civic or social space. More broadly, her research focuses on the sociocultural implications of digital platforms, algorithmic governance, and the intersection of technology and international policy. A first-generation, lower-income college student and a native of Los Angeles, California, she received an B.S. in ‘Politics, Philosophy, and Economics’ and in ‘History, Culture, and Law’, summa cum laude, from Northeastern University and an MA in International Policy from Stanford, where she is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar.

Lila Batcheller

Lila Batcheller

Research Assistant

Lila Batcheller is a Research Assistant for Professor Amy Zegart and the Technology Policy Accelerator at the Hoover Institution. She supports research initiatives at the intersection of emerging technology, intelligence, and national security, contributing to projects that examine how policymakers can effectively navigate the geopolitical and strategic implications of rapid technological change. Lila graduated from Stanford University in 2026 with a B.A. in International Relations, and honors in Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

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