Open by Design: Building Trust in Policy and Tech | Katie Steen-James, Open Source Initiative

What does it mean to build trust across institutions that are, by design, slow to change but crucial to public life? In this episode, we chat with Katie Steen-James, Senior U.S. Policy Manager at the Open Source Initiative, for a rich conversation about trust and transformation in higher education and tech.

From her early advocacy work in Missouri’s state legislature to her leadership at SPARC and now OSI, Katie brings a blend of policy expertise, lived experience, and systems thinking. We explore how open-source software reshapes global tech policy, why trust between students and administrators often breaks down, and how AI regulation could be the next frontier for public accountability.

Katie offers a candid, grounded perspective on what it means to meet people where they are and the hidden forces that benefit from mistrust. She also shares how personal storytelling can be a powerful tool for policy change.