wilneida

Dr. Wilneida Negrón

Wilneida Negrón is a cross-sector policy leader. For nearly two decades, she has worked with policymakers, industry, and capital markets to make sure the rules of our economy and our political system work for the people who live under them, not just the people who write them.

She started out as a crisis counselor, sitting with young people, families, survivors of domestic violence, and immigrants at some of the hardest moments of their lives. That work taught her that policy is never abstract. It decides whether you get paid what you earned, whether you’re treated fairly as a customer, whether your neighborhood is safe, and whether your kids get a real shot.

From there, her work grew to cover the rules that shape everyday life: labor, technology and AI, consumer protection, public safety, and education. She has advised government leaders, regulators, companies, founders, investors, and community organizations. And she has built initiatives that bring those groups to the same table, because the rules that last are the ones written with the people they affect.

Her first book, The Human Interface, is out now

My work has been featured at

The Guardian NPR Financial Times Washington Post Stanford Social Innovation Review Newsweek Protocol Fast Company Daily Maverick WiredBBC 4Inc.comThe Register

Personal story/Bio

I was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father. Since the day I was able to speak, I have lovingly frustrated my parents and siblings with endless back-to-back questions on everything from “what is the moon made of?”; “what happens to the cows when it rains? (we lived in the small rural farming community of Palenque); “what happens if I put red chanoti seeds in my ears? (I grew up surrounded by wild A. precatorius plants and made a few trips to the emergency room with seeds in my ears). As I got older, the questions became more complicated and ranged from everything from religion to economics and politics in the US, Puerto Rico, and around the world. To this day, it's my love and curiosity for the world and the people in it that drives my purpose and work.

I am currently the Director of Worker Innovation and Impact at Coworker, Co-founder of the Startups & Society Initiative (SSI) as well as the Founder of the Future of Workers Initiative, and the New Progressives. As part of SSI, I co-founded the Responsible Innovation Founders Summit — an annual event that has attracted 700+ global tech leaders including founders backed by Y-Combinator, General Catalyst, and Sequoia, and published the Responsible Innovation Primer for Founders — a distillation of 100+ interviews of influential tech and civil society leaders about building tech companies responsibly. I am currently boot-strapping my new ventures, Grey Americana, a multi-media company and social community.

After navigating the challenges of palliative and hospice care for my mother, I became an advocate for strengthening holistic, equitable end-of-life care; supporting families and ensuring that every life is honored with dignity.

My current Advisory roles Are:

I have a PhD In Comparative Politics, with a specialization in emerging technologies in East Asia And Latin America, a Masters In Public Administration, and a M.Phil. in International And Global Affairs. Im also a life-long Fellow at the Data & Society Research Institute, Atlantic Institute, and ThirdHouse.

Recent News & Press: