Bridging technology and human rights advocacy
Senior Engineering Manager, DoubleVerify
Mahima Arya (DC 2020) looks for the truth. She balances a high-level career in software engineering with a deep commitment to human rights. In both endeavors, she鈥檚 a watchdog for integrity.
mission is to measure the effectiveness and quality of digital advertising. Mahima leads a team that analyzes advertising performance on global platforms such as Reddit, LinkedIn and Snapchat.
鈥淪ocial integrations are a fast-growing channel for advertising, so it鈥檚 an exciting and interesting engineering challenge,鈥� she says.
Since 2021, she鈥檚 served as a fellow with the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), which works to support privacy and combat the discriminatory impact of surveillance on marginalized communities.
In 2022, Mahima was awarded a Humanity in Action Fellowship to support her LGBTQ+-focused work with the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. The experience fueled her ability to create research, op-eds, training and toolkits to amplify understanding of the harmful effects of surveillance technology.
鈥淚 investigated how U.S. law enforcement and prosecutors are weaponizing medical records and other data to shut down access to gender-affirming care. Understanding this kind of surveillance helps to protect the civil rights of everyone, notably transgender and nonbinary individuals,鈥� she says.
At its heart, Mahima's ongoing advocacy work is driving understanding that sometimes injustice starts quietly, and early action is most effective.
鈥淚 wanted to give people the verbiage for how to speak about issues that start as a gut feeling, but are actually genuine systemic problems rooted in evidence. I can be a bridge between the experts and non-experts, and between complicated technical knowledge and the emotions of it all,鈥� she says.
Story by Elizabeth Speed