When deciding where to attend college, Emily Cashman Kirstein ’07 is grateful she took the advice of her late father, Brian Cashman ’77, who told her, “Go anywhere where you’d feel proud to graduate from.” That advice just happened to lead her to his alma mater. The idea of an education and life guided by the principle of living for and with others appealed to Cashman Kirstein, then and now.
That deep sense of mission has steered Cashman Kirstein’s career choices, drawing her to spaces where she can make an impact and be a voice for the vulnerable. She has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in the U.S. Senate, on political campaigns and at nonprofits. Today, she is leading policy at Google on a daunting and profoundly urgent task — making the online world a safer place for children.
Cashman Kirstein sat down with HCM to talk about the pivotal U.S. Senate staff briefing that set her on her current career path and what drives her in this important work, as well as which Holy Cross experiences left the greatest impact.
FIRST, A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU, EMILY
Where did you grow up?
The great state of New Hampshire — live free or die.
What was your first memory of the internet?
Angsty song lyrics as away messages.
What’s the last book you recommended to a friend?
“The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA” by Liza Mundy.
How do you relax?
With good friends and good food.
ON YOUR CURRENT POSITION AS CHILD SAFETY PUBLIC POLICY LEAD AT GOOGLE
What is your focus in this role?
My role covers online child safety in a wide variety of ways — from combating child sexual abuse material (or CSAM, the preferred terminology for what’s legally known as child pornography), to advising on products and policies that guide how kids experience the online world. Over the past decade, I’ve sat on the government side, the NGO [non-governmental organization] side and now the industry side of these issues. It’s an incredibly important, complex topic and I know how hard it is to get right. Online child safety, access to information, and privacy are all vital pieces to the puzzle — for kids and adults alike — and finding ways to translate it all to real solutions is core to how I work.
What drew you to this work?
I sat in on a staff briefing on CSAM while working in the U.S. Senate. It covered how technology can both proliferate and combat its spread. There is a saying in the child safety space, “Once you know, you can’t unknow,” and that became true for me. I couldn’t get the slides from that presentation out of my head. They were horrifying. At the same time, it seemed like technological advances could really make a difference. That chance staff briefing ended up being a pivotal moment in my career. A few months later, I accepted a role at the online child safety nonprofit Thorn, building out their public policy team and starting along a career trajectory that I had never anticipated. I’ve always been mission-driven — something Holy Cross reinforced. It’s what drew me to working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.S. Senate, on political campaigns and at nonprofits, and eventually working on online child safety policy. While the mission itself has shifted over the years, the throughline of “men and women for others” has stayed with me.
What motivates you in this work?
I didn’t sign up for thefacebook.com until my freshman year of college (in the Hanselman vault right after spring break, in fact) — but today, technology is an intrinsic part of kids’ lives from the very start. As technology accelerates and evolves, there are new questions to answer and new challenges to overcome to ensure safer online experiences for kids.
There’s not a lot that policymakers agree on these days, whether in the U.S. or globally, but protecting kids online gains consensus from competing parties and branches within governments worldwide. It’s energizing to sit at the center of cutting-edge technology and public policy as governments and advocates across the globe tackle it.
What is your professional motto?
“Know what you don’t know.” My mentor in U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office taught me that, and it has stuck with me ever since. It reminds me to always ask more questions and to come to the table with a healthy dose of humility.
ON BEING A COLLABORATIVE VOICE FOR CHILD SAFETY
You serve on the Global Policy Board of the WeProtect Global Alliance, as well as the board of the Family Online Safety Institute and the Tech Coalition — all working to keep children safe from abuse online. Why is it so important for tech companies and experts to collaborate on this issue?
This is where progress happens — when tech companies, child safety advocates, child development experts and government representatives convene to listen, ask tough questions and find areas of agreement that enable us to make a difference for kids. There are no easy answers when it comes to online child safety. Change happens by getting the right people in a room and having honest and respectful conversations about what we all care about — making the online world safer for children.
ON HOLY CROSS
What made you choose Holy Cross?
My dad, Brian Cashman, was in the class of 1977 and my grandfather, George Cashman, was in the class of 1947 — so naturally I wanted nothing to do with Holy Cross when the college hunt began. I applied to appease them both, and that eased the pressure campaign. When decision time rolled around, my dad told me, “Go anywhere where you’d feel proud to graduate from.” The next fall, I found myself on Mount St. James. They’ve both since passed, and sharing this key piece of my identity with them is pretty special.
What was your favorite spot on campus?
Dinand Library, main hall, in one of the cozy chairs with my legs propped up against one of the giant pillars.
Which course had the greatest impact on you and who taught it?
I don’t know if I could name a specific class, but as a history and Spanish double major, I can remember which professors kept me coming back to their classes in each department. I took quite a few classes with Professor Noel Cary, who I will never forget is an actual rocket-scientist-turned-history professor. In one class, he knocked desks over and lobbed chalk-laden erasers across the classroom to help visualize the chaos of trench warfare. In another class, he taught the history of memory. We studied it specifically related to post-World War II Germany, and I come back to the concept often.
In the Spanish literature department, I sought out courses with Professor Jorge Valdés because he radiated love for the subject matter. I can still picture him teaching Garcilaso de la Vega’s Soneto XXIII, “En tanto que de rosa y azucena.” I had the opportunity during my senior year to interview him for fósforo [the College’s bilingual Hispanic literary and cultural journal], and learned about his childhood during the Cuban Revolution and how he left Cuba alone at just 10 years old to come to Florida. I wish I had been able to do that interview sooner. And looking back on it now, I have so many more questions I wish I’d asked.
With all of the papers and exams, it wasn’t always easy to appreciate in the moment, but the caliber of experts we learned from was exceptional.
What Holy Cross experience had the greatest impact on you, and why?
Junior year abroad in León, Spain. I learned more that year than any other time in my life — how to speak the language, of course, but also how to push myself to be more independent and chart my own course. León will always have a special place en mi corazón.
AND FINALLY …
What advice do you wish you could go back and give to your younger self?
Trust your gut and speak up more. I still struggle with this now, as do too many women, but I’ve worked hard to overcome the fear of saying the wrong thing. There are times when it’s just too important to get the point across.
Who or what inspires you?
Everyday acts of kindness and courage.
