Chamber of Progress, a new center-left tech industry organization launched two months ago, is expanding its team by bringing aboard a trio of veteran Democratic aides with experience in Congress, state capitals, law, and public interest.  The organization also announced several recent additions to its Advisory Board.

Koustubh “K.J.” Bagchi will serve as Senior Director of Federal Public Policy. Bagchi is a veteran of Capitol Hill and public interest organizations, having served most recently as Senior Policy Counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute.  He was previously the tech policy attorney for the civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice and legislative counsel for former Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA). He led Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)  & small business engagement at the DNC and held development positions at the AAPI Victory Fund and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  Bagchi graduated from UC Davis and received his law degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Montana Williams will serve as Director of State and Local Public Policy.  She most recently served as Internet Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge, where she focused on broadband accessibility, platform competition, and intellectual property.  She previously worked as a Maryland state lobbyist, advocating on issues dealing with telecommunications, education, health care, and state infrastructure at the Annapolis firm Evans & Associates.  A graduate of the University of Florida and American University Washington College of Law, Williams served as a legal clerk at a number of law firms. Prior to her work in law and policy, Williams worked in retail management and recruitment for Abercrombie & Fitch.

Chris MacKenzie will serve as Director of Communications. A veteran of Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, he most recently served as House and campaign Communications Director for former New Democratic Coalition & Blue Dog Coalition member Rep. Kendra Horn (D-OK).  He previously served Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) as a House aide and as New Hampshire State Director of his presidential campaign.  Earlier he served as Communications Director to Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and as Director of the Democracy Program at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.  MacKenzie is a graduate of American University.

“K.J., Montana, and Chris all have deep roots in Democratic politics and policy and will deepen our work to make technology’s future as progressive as its past,” said Chamber of Progress CEO and Founder Adam Kovacevich.  Bagchi, Williams, and MacKenzie will start later this month.

Kovacevich also announced that several leaders have joined the organization’s volunteer Advisory Board in the last two months, including: Debbie Cox Bultan, CEO of NewDEAL Leaders; Arun Sundararajan, Harold Price Professor of Entrepreneurship and Technology at NYU Stern; and Brian Woolfolk, Principal at Swan Creek Strategies and a veteran of the House Judiciary Committee.  The full Advisory Board can be found at progresschamber.org.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  
Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.