Raquel Vazquez Llorente

A woman with medium-light skin tone, and long, straight, brown hair poses, unsmiling, with her head turned to the side, staring at the camera. She wears a magenta jacket, bright red lipstick and bright red nail polish.

Lawyer specializing in how technology and online content can support communities seeking justice and accountability for human rights abuses

Raquel is a lawyer specializing in how technology and online content can support communities seeking justice and accountability for human rights abuses. At WITNESS, she leads a team that engages with emerging technologies that have the potential to enhance or undermine our trust on audiovisual media. Her current work focuses on how generative AI and synthetic media intersect with misinformation, disinformation, rising authoritarianism, and impact the work of human rights and democracy defenders on and offline. Prior to WITNESS, Raquel helped build eyeWitness (Opens in a new tab) , an award-winning organization that developed technology to authenticate visual evidence for courts. In her role, she also led strategic partnerships with technologists, litigation networks and activists that contributed to the documentation and investigation of human rights abuses, bringing victim-centered justice to communities affected by violence. Raquel is part of the 2020 class of the Obama Foundation Europe Leaders.

Meet our 2023 Democracy Forum Speakers

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Baratunde Thurston

Democracy Forum Host
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Wemimo Abbey

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Esusu
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Peter Adams

Senior Vice President of Research and Design of the News Literacy Project
Aleena Agrawal Headshot (Economic Inclusion)

Aleena Agrawal

Director of Talent Solutions at P33
Ellen Alberding

Ellen Alberding

President and CEO, The Joyce Foundation
Ian Bassin Headshot

Ian Bassin

Co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy
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Brian Deese

MIT Innovation Fellow
Hany Farid Headshot (Weighing AI and Human Progress)

Hany Farid

Professor at the University of California, Berkeley
Nancy Gibbs Headshot (Democracy-s Immune System)

Nancy Gibbs

Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice and Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
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Emma Grede

Entrepreneur & Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge and the CEO and Co-Founder of Good American
Regina Hall

Regina Hall

Award-winning actress and producer
Mary Kay Henry (Fair Economies and the Future of Work)

Mary Kay Henry

International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
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Darryl Holliday

Journalist, civic strategist, and media organizer
Valerie Jarrett Headshot

Valerie Jarrett

Chief Executive Officer
Major Brandon Johnson

Mayor Brandon Johnson

Mayor of Chicago
Terah Lyons Headshot (Weighing AI and Human Progress)

Terah Lyons

Founding Executive Director of the Partnership on AI
Anna Makanju Headshot (Weighing AI and Human Progress)

Anna Makanju

OpenAI's Vice President of Global Affairs
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Governor Wes Moore

Governor of the state of Maryland
Alondra Nelson Headshot (Weighing AI and Human Progress)

Alondra Nelson

Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study
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Suzanne Nossel

CEO, PEN America
Chiedo Nwankwor

Chiedo Nwankwor

Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, Interim Director of SAIS Europe, Senior Lecturer, and Director of SAIS Women Lead
President Obama Headshot (Economic Inclusion) (Photo by Pari Dukovic courtesy of Penguin Random House)

President Obama

44th president of the United States
John Palfrey Headshot (Democracy-s Immune System)

John Palfrey

President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
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DeMario Phipps-Smith

Senior Manager of Community Learning at News Literacy Project.
Sonal Shah Headshot (Democracy-s Immune System)

Sonal Shah

Chief Executive Officer at The Texas Tribune
Alex Smith Headshot (Finding Meaningful Connections in a Digital World)

Alex Smith

Founder of The Cares Family
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Betsey Stevenson

Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan
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Mandy Teefey

Co-Founder and CEO of Wondermind
Shani Tran Headshot

Shani Tran

Licensed therapist and author
Judy Woodruff Headshot (Democracy-s Immune System)

Judy Woodruff

Senior Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour

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