Alumna Barbara Simons honored by Verified Voting

Verified Voting celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gathering that honored its efforts in securing elections. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi presented an award to Board Chair and CS alumna Barbara Simons (CS Ph.D. ‘81) for her dedication to election integrity. Simons emphasized the importance of “election hygiene” and urged voters to actively check their registrations and ballots.

Simons is notable for being the only woman to receive the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley, where she earned her Ph.D. in computer science, advised by Richard Karp.

The event, which took place on September 14, highlighted the organization’s two decades of commitment to election security and responsible technology use, featuring speeches from influential figures like Pelosi and MIT’s Ronald Rivest. Both David Dill, the organization’s founder, and Simons were recognized for their contributions to the electoral field.