Brie is a PhD candidate in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation, titled “When the Street Lights Come On: How a ‘Smart City’ became a Surveillance State,” explores how smart street lights became a tool for law enforcement, even when this was not their intended use, and the consequences for historically criminalized communities of color. She also interrogates how cities address residents’ concerns regarding accountability, transparency, and privacy rights when adopting surveillant technologies. Through qualitative interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and archival research, Brie traces the historical uses of street lights for surveillance and social control, culminating in the smart street lights of today.

Brie also has a Masters in Public Policy/Master of Arts in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Gender Studies from New College of Florida