My work has been covered in places like The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, Motherboard, Newsweek, Boston Globe, and CBC.
Tweet me: @chels_bar
Mail me: chelsea [dot] barabas @ gmail [dot] com
I’m a researcher and strategist who works across communities, advocacy networks, and public institutions to confront technological harm and build collective futures. My work focuses on how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape power, rights, and material conditions—particularly for communities most impacted by structural inequality.
For more than a decade, I’ve partnered with organizers, advocates, and community leaders to translate lived experience into structural change. Together, we’ve designed research, legal strategies, and policy interventions that have influenced legislative and regulatory outcomes, while expanding pathways for community leadership in public decision-making.
I help communities make sense of complex technological systems, identify points of intervention, and develop collective responses that strengthen accountability and shared power. I also collaborate with policymakers, philanthropy, media, and academic institutions to ensure that technological innovation does not outpace public oversight or community voice.
Across research, advocacy, and advisory work, I am committed to expanding collective agency in an era of rapid technological change.
***NOTE***
This site is currently under construction as I take time to archive all the fun projects I’ve had the opportunity to be part of over the last few years. Leaving up my (slightly outdated) Publications and Talks tab if you want to peruse past work in the meantime.
Updates expected to go live sometime in March 2026. Stay tuned!