Fathom Staff More Than Doubles

New Senior Leaders Join the Organization Across all Departments

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fathom, an independent nonprofit building the solutions society needs to thrive in an AI-driven world, today announced a series of key hires across departments, more than doubling the organization's staff.

"As Fathom sprints into our second year, we're building our team as aggressively as we are intentionally," said Blake Pierson, CEO and Co-Founder. "The pace of AI innovation is relentless and our mission could not be more important. Each new member of our team brings valuable, high-level experience that will enable their respective departments to thrive and in turn will allow Fathom's incredible momentum to carry forward for years to come."

Fathom's team continues to grow with the following additions:

Jamie Van Leeuwen , PhD, MA, MPH, Chief of Philanthropic Partnerships: Jamie is a distinguished leader and advocate in public policy, community development, and social justice. He brings decades of experience in the philanthropy and start-up spaces to Fathom and leads the continued growth of our donor partnerships.

Shana Mansbach , Vice President of Communications and Strategy: Shana leads the organization's efforts to shape the public discourse around the solutions needed for our transition to a world with AI. She comes to Fathom after more than a decade serving in the U.S. Government. Most recently, she served as senior advisor to Secretary of State Antony J Blinken; previous public service positions include campaign speechwriter and advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, deputy director of communications for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Jake Swanton , Vice President of State Policy and External Affairs: Jake is a senior policy leader with over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors across policy, legislation, and political campaigns. Jake leads Fathom's work to educate and build partnerships with state legislatures, governors' offices, and other key policymakers. Jake has held leadership roles in government affairs, state advocacy, and public policy functions at organizations like Lyft and The Pew Charitable Trusts. He previously served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO), and his campaign work spans presidential, senate, and mayoral races.

Jamie Chou , Vice President of Impact Strategy & Special Projects: Jamie is a strategic operator with 20+ years of experience driving growth, execution, and innovation across public and private sectors. At Fathom, Jamie will be leading the organization's extensive coalition-building efforts both within Silicon Valley and across the nation. Jamie previously led Federal Market Growth and Government Affairs at Virta Health, an innovative digital healthcare company. She has also held senior roles at Google and Accenture.

Max Docksey , Senior Advisor: Max is an experienced political strategist with over a decade of work at both the state and national levels. Most recently, he has held senior leadership roles with the Republican National Committee and the Republican State Leadership Committee, helping guide successful election efforts across the country.

Gillian Hadfield , Senior Advisor: Gillian is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of AI Alignment and Governance at the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Government and Policy at Johns Hopkins University. Her research is focused on innovative design for legal and regulatory systems for AI and other complex global technologies, computational models of human normative systems, and working with machine learning (ML) researchers to build ML systems that understand and respond to human values and norms.

In addition to these senior staff, Fathom has also brought on three new members to build out key roles in policy, philanthropic partnerships, and operations. Lucía de la Torre (Director of Policy Innovation) recently received her MS in Data Journalism from Columbia University, and previously worked at Amnesty International, Financial Times, and The Trust Collaboratory. Adam Edgerton, PhD, (Director, Philanthropic Partnerships) brings more than a decade of development and policy experience, having previously worked in nonpartisan roles at the Congressional Research Service and the Learning Policy Institute. Alexis Sacasas (Chief of Staff) previously spent nearly a decade at FWD.us and started her career at a leading international law firm.

In addition to the new staff, Fathom also welcomed two new Senior Fellows. These fellows join our existing Fathom Fellows program, an initiative that brings together renowned and highly trusted experts to help society navigate the integration of AI broadly across sectors and industries.

Dean Ball , Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation: In early 2025 Dean joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and directly supported the drafting of the White House AI Action Plan. After the publication of the AI Action Plan, Dean returned to the private sector to continue his policy scholarship to develop a forward-looking vision for governance that remains rooted in the founding principles of America. Upon returning to the private sector, Dean quickly rejoined the Fathom Fellows program to continue his collaborative work on AI governance.

Dex Hunter-Torricke , Fellow, University of Cambridge Thinklab: Dex has spent decades managing communications for leaders and organizations at the heart of global change, including Google, Facebook, SpaceX and the United Nations. Dex has advised leaders like Eric Schmidt, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, as well as numerous startup founders and political leaders in the US and Europe.

About Fathom:
Fathom is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that finds, builds, and scales the solutions needed for our transition to a world with AI. We believe this transition must be guided by the voices and values of all people, not just technologists. Through deep public engagement, policy innovation, and cross-sector collaboration, Fathom is pioneering AI governance models that match the pace of technological change, foster public trust, and unleash American innovation. Sign up to our Substack to stay in the know on AI Governance, subscribe to Fathom's Dispatch for daily AI news delivered to your inbox, and learn more at http://fathom.org.

SOURCE Fathom AI Inc.