Meet Our Global Team 

Ash is our Founder and CEO, with a background as an AI entrepreneur, policymaker, educator and investor. He is Treasurer at Rethink Priorities, and a mentor at Salzburg Global Fellowship. He was formerly Chief Economist at the Royal Society of Arts, where he led work on economic change and co-founded the Forum for Ethical AI with DeepMind.

He is the author of The Moral Marketplace (UB Press, 2018) as well as more than thirty publications on policy and tech for good, and writes and broadcasts widely. He is based between London, Berlin, and the Bay Area.

Sam is an Electric Sheep Associate, Mentor and Technical Guru. He facilitates the Futurekind fellowship and offers mentorship across the field to code-based projects. As founder of OpenPaws he is a key delivery partner for Electric Sheep, providing technical architecture and oversight for the Code for Compassion series.

Dr Bárbara Buril is a research and strategy consultant with a PhD in Philosophy and a background in journalism. She supports high-impact projects—across nonprofits and businesses—in turning complex ideas into clear, actionable strategies. Previously, she worked at Animal Think Tank, where she led research on social movement theory and cultural change to advance animal freedom in the UK.

Fluent in Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish, Bárbara has been published in academic journals and mainstream media and is also a published author. She is especially passionate about supporting people to shape the future of artificial intelligence in ways that promote the wellbeing of both animals and humans—through bold, thoughtful, and effective strategies for the greater good.

Aditya is the Director of Strategy at Electric Sheep, where he represents us on platforms all over the world. He has led on AI safety outreach for the Impact Academy and outreach for Animal Ethics. He combines his work advising on Electric Sheep’s learning programs with his work at U. de Compostela in Spain.

Khushbu is the Head of Fellowships Electric Sheep. She has a background in Philosophy, having worked as Junior Research Fellow at the University of Delhi. She was an Ahimsa Fellow.

Alongside leading on curriculum content and back end development, she is currently pursuing her PhD from Universidad de Granada. She works tirelessly to ensure that Electric Sheep’s global community is as impactful as it can be.

Anushka Massand is a Program Associate at Electric Sheep, supporting the Futurekind Fellowship and other initiatives. Her work spans program operations, community building and communications, supporting fellows in their Futurekind journey.

Alongside her work at Electric Sheep, Anushka works with international nonprofits and mission-driven organisations across research, strategy, and communications. She holds a Master’s degree in Media and Business from Erasmus University Rotterdam and is passionate about building communities that create positive impact for animals.

Anukriti Agnihotri is an operations specialist with over two years of experience in animal protection, most recently managing the Ahimsa Fellowship under People for Animals Public Policy. With a Master’s in Fisheries, she excels at running programs, managing team cohorts, and translating research into real-world impact. 

As a Programme Associate for the Future kind Fellowship at Electric Sheep, Anukriti brings her talent for organizing projects and connecting people to grow global programs.

Matt is founder and president of MTCC—a boutique consulting firm specializing in engineering design and implementation for the food & beverage industry. With a proven track record of scaling iconic plant-based brands like Impossible Burger, Kite Hill cheese, Ripple Milk, and Eat JUST mayo, Matt has helped start-ups successfully navigate the journey from pre-seed to commercialization.

Indra serves in local politics for the Dutch Party for the Animals, in the Water Authority (a Dutch layer of government), his City Council and in the Province before, together covering all layers of Dutch local politics, focusing in particular on topics that relate to his background. His study background spans systems biology - including evolutionary theory, combined with a strong interest in Dennettian philosophy - and risk management or actuarial science (i.e. insurance mathematics) and related fields, i.e. econometrics, operations research and mathematical economics. He co-founded Effective Altruism Tilburg, which included an effective animal advocacy group discussing Tobias Leenaert’s book How to Create a Vegan World as well as a fellowship on Global Mental Health, and the Tilburg AI Safety Initiative with a unique focus on the governance of AI systems. The wider community and before that his alma mater, rooted in the tutorial system, provided ample opportunities to practice facilitation, which he can now apply in our Futurekind fellowship. The future interplay between facts and values, and what our and artificial intelligence’s role therein should be and is, is one of his favourite topics for reflection.

Engineer and serial founder working across Latin America. She served as Executive Director for Mercy For Animals Latin America, co-founded an animal welfare nonprofit supported by Open Philanthropy, and later co-founded the leading plant-based meat company in Peru. She also worked in the Peruvian government, designing grantmaking programs to support innovation. Currently, she's exploring AI and its intersection with animal welfare.

Michał Kubiak is an AI Policy Officer at ORCG, focusing on European AI regulations and AI risk management. His previous tech policy experience stems from his role as an AI Policy Officer at the Brussels-based European DIGITAL SME Alliance. Michał is also a teacher at the AI governance boot camps organised by ML4Good and a facilitator of AI governance courses at BlueDot Impact.

Michał's research experience includes investigating policies applicable to transformative AI (e.g., with Supervised Program for Alignment Research - SPAR) and earlier experience in industrial mathematics (STEM-based scientific problem solving for businesses, governments and other institutions).

Elizabeth has over eight years in the nonprofit sector, working with Mercy For Animals, Amnesty International, and Animal Charity Evaluators, and 12 years in corporate marketing and communications. She brings expertise in digital marketing, fundraising campaigns, and mobilizing communities to drive impact.

Recently, she has focused on AI applications for animal welfare and gained deep expertise in alternative proteins and sustainable food systems, combining her passion for animals with innovative, tech-driven solutions.

Aishwarya’s work spans AI policy, community building, and program operations. She has contributed to research at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, facilitated global learning spaces with the Center for AI Safety, BlueDot Impact, and Future Academy, and supported the design of inclusive, impact-focused programs. She is particularly passionate about creating systems that enable others to do meaningful work. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Business Administration and Applied Mathematics.

John Flack is a Systems Engineer specializing in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) within legacy (midrange/mainframe( and hybrid enterprise environments. His work focuses on translating complex infrastructure realities into accountable, audit-ready systems aligned with frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and emerging AI governance standards.

With a background spanning infrastructure, security, and quantitative risk analysis, John brings a practical, systems-level perspective to governance: particularly in environments where legacy technology and modern AI systems intersect. He is an active contributor to the GRC community and writes on topics including AI governance, risk quantification, and the challenges of governing systems that are sometimes left as "black boxes".

Mac is a long-time facilitator for BlueDot Impact's strategy, technical, and governance courses, and is an independent AI strategy and governance researcher. Currently, his research focuses on AI threat modelling and forecasting. He's also a grateful dad as of Feb 26 and --- as is true of anyone with taste --- counts the Star Wars Holiday Special amongst his favourite films.

Vatsal has spent the last few years building rationality education in India, running workshops on identifying cognitive biases and improving decision-making across multiple cities. Before that, he spent over a decade in bioinformatics, data science and software development. He founded Portal, a community space in Bangalore focused on cognitive and emotional growth, and runs rationality meetups in Hyderabad. You can learn more about him here: https://vatsalmehra.com

Jessica Masterson is a freelance writer and researcher with an interdisciplinary focus spanning autonomy and consent, animal ethics, and AI safety. She has particular interest in the intersection between animal rights and artificial intelligence, and what a positive AI future looks like for animals. She holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Birmingham (PhD), University of Galway (MA), and the University of Limerick (MA) in philosophy, ethics, and writing. With 10+ years of research experience and 6+ years experience in tutoring, communications and administration, she uses her skills to work towards a better future for animals. A vegetarian since the age of 11, and vegan for over a decade, Jessica has a lifelong passion for creating a world in which the wellbeing of animals is prioritised.

Vicky is an animal welfare scientist with over 15 years of experience spanning research, higher education, and scientific publishing. She holds an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh.
Vicky co-founded and coordinates the first graduate program in animal welfare, ethics, and law in Greece. Her background includes conducting EU-wide research to shape data-driven animal welfare education policies, alongside deep expertise in scientific communication. Driven by a mission to bridge research and policy in animal welfare by translating evidence into impactful solutions, Vicky is currently exploring the intersection of AI and animal protection, developing tech-driven solutions to advance global animal welfare.