Doug Calidas

Senior Vice President of Government Affairs

Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI)

Doug serves as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Since 2022, he has also served as a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, where his research focuses on technology policy and geopolitics. ARI’s mission is to help U.S. policymakers develop a thoughtful governance framework for rapidly advancing technologies that protects the public from harm while continuing to foster innovation, and Doug leads ARI’s policy development process and outreach to policymakers. He is also a former Technology and Public Purpose Fellow (2022-2023).

Doug previously served as Chief of Staff to Senator Amy Klobuchar, a senior member of the Senate Democratic leadership team. As Chief of Staff to Senator Klobuchar, Doug managed a team of approximately 50 staffers and served as the Senator’s top strategist for policy initiatives, media relations, and constituent services. He led all staff in supporting the Senator’s work as Chair of the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee and a senior member of the Commerce and Agriculture Committees. Doug spent five years with Senator Klobuchar, having previously served as the Senator’s Legislative Director, Deputy Legislative Director, and Senior Economic Adviser. Before advising Senator Klobuchar, Doug served as Chief Counsel for Senator Joe Manchin. He began his time in the Senate as a Fellow on the staff of the Senate Finance Committee under Senator Ron Wyden.

Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Doug spent six years as an attorney in private practice at the Steptoe law firm in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law – where he was an Editor of the Duke Law Journal and a member of the moot court board – and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he studied finance, economics, and international relations. He lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife Katie and their four young children.