Former FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Named Executive Director of MIT Media Lab
Rosenworcel to bring policy expertise and public-interest focus to tech innovation hub at MIT
WASHINGTON, August 8, 2025 – Jessica Rosenworcel, former chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission during the Biden administration, will assume the role of executive director for the MIT Media Lab starting mid-September.
In an announcement Monday, the MIT Media Lab stated that Rosenworcel was selected for this position based on her “leadership in shaping the digital future,” highlighting the initiatives she launched during her FCC tenure to close the digital divide, strengthen cybersecurity, protect civil rights in the digital world, and ensure public access to trusted information and emergency services.
According to the lab’s announcement, Rosenworcel’s appointment “builds on the Media Lab’s 40-year foundation of propelling innovation, and its commitment to continue advancing work at the intersection of art, science, engineering, and design.”
“I’ve spent my career focused on how technology can serve people — how we build systems that are fair, inclusive, and forward-looking,” said Rosenworcel. "At this moment of rapid technological transformation, I’m excited to bring that mission to a new context — one infused with the magic of the MIT Media Lab and powered by MIT’s global impact on humanity through bold ideas, creativity, and a deep commitment to the public good.”
As executive director, Rosenworcel will play a key role in shaping the Lab’s strategic direction and vision, working alongside Media Lab Faculty Director and Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media, Tod Machover. She will lead the Lab’s development and communications initiatives; partner with faculty and research teams to broaden the Lab’s global influence; and foster new collaborations across sectors such as industry, philanthropy, academia, and government.
“Jessica understands both the immense potential and the great responsibility that come with emerging technologies,” said Machover. “Her experience and expertise in so many relevant areas, including the potential and challenges of AI, as well as her crystal-clear communication style and synthesizing spirit, will bring focus and energy to our whole community.”
The MIT Media Lab, a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an interdisciplinary thinktank that brings together students, researchers, faculty, and outside experts in pursuit of creating innovative, transformative technologies that can serve the public good.
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