Constance Bommelaer de Leusse

Constance de Leusse joined Project Liberty’s McCourt Institute in November 2022 and serves as its executive director. The institute’s mission is to ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the development of new technology and embedded in the next generation of the web. Established in 2021 with founding partners Georgetown University and Sciences Po, this international institute is advancing timely, actionable research on ethical technology and serving as a meeting ground for technologists, social scientists, policymakers and governance experts, and leaders from the public and private sectors.

Constance has more than 20 years of experience in digital policy and capacity building. She started her career working in the French prime minister’s services on information society issues. She then joined The Internet Society, the international NGO founded by Vint Cerf, the father of the internet. In her role of vice president of institutional relations and empowerment, she led the organization’s international partnerships and policy work across stakeholder communities. She also conducted training and learning activities, empowering the next generation of tech leaders to build an internet that creates opportunity and supports the public interest.

Constance has been instrumental in developing new internet governance institutions. She notably founded the Internet Technical Advisory Committee to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), facilitating the participation of global technical and academic communities into international policy discussions. In 2013, she was seconded to UNESCO to help develop their internet governance strategy. She co-authored the UN Information Society concept, i.e. Rights-based, Open, Accessible and Multistakeholder. The latter has, since then, been used as a foundation to support the evolution of digital policy frameworks at the national and regional levels.

Constance has served on a number of committees including the World Economic Forum Internet For All Steering Committee, and the UN Secretary-General’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

On a part-time basis, she currently teaches digital governance at the university of Sciences Po. She also serves in the Naval Reserve of the French army.

Constance holds a master’s degree in law from the Paris Panthéon Asass University, a post-graduate degree in EU politics from Sciences Po, and a diploma in management from the London School of Economics (LSE). She grew up in the United States and has lived in Switzerland. She is currently based in Paris with her husband and their three children.