Dr. Rachel M. Gillum is a technology policy executive and scholar whose work focuses on how advanced technologies are governed in high-stakes settings, and how those choices shape human rights, national security, and public trust.

As Vice President of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology at Salesforce, she built and leads the global policy function for responsible AI, platform safety, and human rights across Salesforce and Slack. Her team translates emerging technology risks, human rights principles, regulatory expectations, and public trust concerns into practical policies, safeguards, and decision frameworks. Its work spans AI governance, content safety, Trust & Safety operations, and the responsible deployment of AI products and agents.

Before Salesforce, Rachel served as Senior Director at RiceHadleyGatesManuel LLC, the strategic advisory firm founded by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Robert Gates, and Anja Manuel. There, she advised senior executives, boards, investors, and global organizations on geopolitical risk, government engagement, market strategy, platform governance, and consequential technology decisions. Earlier in her career, she served as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. government.

Rachel is Co-Chair of the American Political Science Association’s Presidential Task Force on AI, Politics and Political Science and an affiliated scholar at Stanford University. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Stanford and is the author of peer-reviewed academic work on national security, political identity, public trust, and emerging technology, including forthcoming research on AI and politics with Cambridge University Press. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Washington Post, Reuters, Essence, and other outlets.

She serves as a Commissioner on the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Commission and has advised or served with organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s AI Commission, the Institute for Security and Technology, CareMessage, and the Council on Foreign Relations.