Affiliated Fellows

Josh Mendelsohn, Senior Fellow

Josh Mendelsohn is a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, specializing Policy Making and Technology. Prior to working with the Potomac Institute, Mr. Mendelsohn has had a career as a technology investor, entrepreneur, and strategist has extended from Washington to Silicon Valley to New York City. For nearly two decades, he has played a leading role in the emerging public tech sector as well as a prominent advocate founding and leading a range of organizations at the intersection of tech and government. In 2016 and 2020, he was part of the senior leadership team that advised Mike Bloomberg on a potential Presidential run and continues to serve as a senior technology and innovation advisor to Bloomberg LP leadership. 
 
Mr. Mendelsohn is also the founder and Managing Partner of Hangar, a New York City firm building public-sector focused products and services from the ground up. Prior to Hangar, he was a co-founder of Hattery, which prior to a 2013 sale to Google, invested in early-stage startups, using a full-time team of design, engineering, operations, and finance experts to help accelerate the growth of portfolio companies. While at Hattery, Mr. Mendelsohn was part of a group of startup founders and investors who formed Engine, an organization focused on bringing policymakers and high-tech, high-growth technology startups together. Prior to Hattery and Engine, he held several operating roles across the portfolio of Sequoia Capital. Mr. Mendelsohn started his Silicon Valley career as PM at Google for four years where in his 20% time he created the Google Disaster Response Program, now part of Google.org, as well as the @Google Talks program.