Nora Benavidez — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Serves as Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, running the organization's democracy and digital civil rights portfolio.
Selected by the Rockefeller Foundation as a 2026 Bellagio Resident.
Named an "AI Liberator" by the Brookings Institution in 2025.
Founder of Build the Bench, a network for Latina women entering law and public service.
Serves as a Board Director for Ben & Jerry's.
Previously served as Faculty Associate at Arizona State University's Cronkite Institute, teaching "Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age."

Biography

Nora Benavidez is a civil rights and free speech attorney who works at the intersection of law, technology, and democracy. She currently serves as Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, where she oversees the organization's democracy and digital civil rights portfolio. Benavidez is an expert on democratic engagement, disinformation, privacy, and free speech, having appeared before The White House, Congress, the FTC, and Canadian Parliament.