FOSI Briefs the States: A Golden Opportunity for Online Safety

* Denotes member of FOSI Board

Tami Bhaumik is the Vice President of Civility and Partnerships at Roblox where she spearheads the platform's digital civility initiative and works to foster a global community of internet safety leaders to ensure good digital citizenship on Roblox. To establish a healthy and safe community, Tami is focused on providing kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with skills needed to create positive online experiences, in partnership with the world’s leading safety and industry organizations. At Roblox, she empowers platform users to self-govern and create a confident, resilient online community with the knowledge and tools to create positive experiences for themselves and others in the metaverse.

Marissa Edmund is the Policy Specialist at the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), working with the policy team to monitor emerging issues in tech policy and contribute her policy and research expertise to ensure the online world is safer for children and families.

Prior to joining FOSI, Marissa spent two years at the Center for American Progress as the Sr. Policy Analyst for Gun Violence Prevention focusing heavily on gender-based and domestic violence. Before that, Marissa was the Policy Coordinator at the National Network to End Domestic Violence where she was able to actualize her passion for family safety by conducting research, engaging membership, and educating lawmakers on ways to support survivors of domestic violence. Marissa holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

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Holly Grosshans is senior counsel for tech policy at Common Sense Media. She advocates for state and federal legislation that create a safer, healthier internet for our kids and families.

Prior to joining Common Sense, she had been a local and then a federal prosecutor. Throughout much of her career, she focused on advocating for the rights and well-being of children and families, particularly in the prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC). A highlight of Holly's role as an ICAC prosecutor was the opportunity to educate children, teachers, and families about the harms that can occur to children on the internet. Her proactive approach to fostering this awareness underscores her belief in the need to create a safer digital environment for our kids and teens.

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On November 8, 2022, California State Assemblyman Josh Hoover was elected to represent the 7th Assembly District in Sacramento County. Assembly District 7 includes the cities of Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova and the unincorporated communities of Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Foothill Farms, Gold River, Mather, McClellan Park, North Highlands, Orangevale, and Rosemont.

Josh is a passionate advocate for California families. His top priorities include making sure our community remains a great place to live, work, and go to school. He serves as the Vice Chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy where he works to support small businesses and bring great jobs to our region. He is also a member of the California Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of legislators committed to finding common sense solutions to our state’s biggest challenges.

Josh also serves on the Assembly Select Committee on Serving Students with Disabilities. As the father of a child on the autism spectrum, he cares deeply about the integration and outcomes of kids with special needs. For his work advocating for students, he was named Folsom’s Young Professional of the Year in 2020.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Josh served as a school board member in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD). He led the fight to reopen schools in his community, and as a result, FCUSD was the first district in Sacramento County to bring students back for in-person instruction. He also worked to balance the budget, protect taxpayers, expand mental health services, support school police officers, and improve student achievement.

Josh earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and public policy from UCLA and a master’s degree in public administration from USC. He lives in Folsom with his wife Nicole and their three children Ayden, Addison, and Austin.

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Larry Magid, EdD,  is CEO of ConnectSafely.org and a veteran technology journalist. He writes a weekly column for the San Jose Mercury News and is the host of the twice-weekly ConnectSafely Report for CBS News Radio and a frequent quest on national and local TV and radio programs in the US and UK.  He served for 20 years as the on-air technology analyst for CBS News and host of the popular CBS show, Eye on Tech

He’s been a contributor to the New York Times and was, for 20 years, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times with columns appearing in the Washington Post and numerous other papers around the world and has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show and CBS This Morning.

He has written several books including the best-selling Little PC Book and Larry Magid’s Guide to the New Digital Highways and has written or co-written numerous online safety guides.

Larry served on the Obama Administration’s Online Technology Working Group and the Harvard Law School Berkman Center’s Internet Safety Technology Task Force and the board of directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and advisory boards of PBS Kids, Internet Congressional Caucus and Family Online Safety Institute as well as safety advisory councils for Meta, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Comcast and Roblox. He has a doctor of education degree from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Nichole is the principal at Rocha Public Affairs.  She brings with her extensive knowledge of the legislative process and technology policy.  Most recently as the Head of 5Rights US, Nichole helped secure the unanimous passage of the Age Appropriate Design Code in two states. Prior to that she served as Chief Consultant to the California Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee and as Counsel to the California Senate Judiciary Committee.  Nichole received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley and her Juris Doctor from UC Davis.

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Matthew Soeth is Head of Trust and Safety and Global Affairs. Matt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to All Tech Is Human. With over 10 years of experience working in online safety, Matt has worked on the ground in schools, at platforms, and at nonprofits advising and developing policy, tooling, and safety resources for global audiences. In addition, Matt is a respected leader in the field of Trust & Safety who has helped build a more cohesive field and helped open up pathways for new voices to enter the fray.

Matt spent the past two years as Head of Trust and Safety at Spectrum Labs supporting gaming, dating and social platforms with their policy, tooling, workflows, and outreach. Matt also served as head of community for the #TSCollective where he helped to grow a community of online trust and safety professionals across the globe. Matt was also an active part of Atlantic Council’s recent Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web, speaking at their Washington, DC launch event for its related report, Scaling Trust on the Web.

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