Yoonee Jeong (MIDP’13): A Champion for Digital Equity and AI Policy

Yoonee Jeong (MIDP’13) is a competitor. Not just in sports (though she knows her way around a soccer field) but also as a courageous advocate for digital equity and ethics.

In her field of digital tech and international development, Yoonee knows that winning isn’t just about skill—it’s about strategy, teamwork, and knowing when to make the right move. Whether coaching youth sports or shaping AI governance frameworks, she sees that every challenge can be won through collaboration and smart playmaking.

Image

With nearly two decades of experience spanning public and regulatory affairs, broadband expansion, and digital inclusion, Yoonee has worked across 20+ countries in the Asia-Pacific region. As a Senior Digital Technology Specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), she leads efforts to close the digital divide, ensuring that last-mile connectivity isn’t just a buzzword but a reality for millions. Her expertise in data governance, financial inclusion, and AI policy has made her a trusted advisor to governments and private sector leaders.

Before ADB, Yoonee held pivotal roles at Telenor and the World Bank, tackling complex regulatory issues and advancing digital economy initiatives. She has co-authored influential reports, shaped cross-border data policies, and even taken on high-stakes negotiations—experiences that have sharpened her ability to navigate the fast-moving digital landscape.

Off the field of global policy, Yoonee balances life as a working mother of three, a dedicated sports coach, and a board member of an international sports federation. Whether in policy rooms or on the playing field, she believes in building inclusive, forward-thinking strategies that leave no one on the sidelines. And as she’s learned from both arenas—sometimes, the best way to change the game is to change the rules.

We talked to Yoonee about her career journey and how Sanford enriched that path. 

Why does public policy matter in 2025 and beyond?

Public policy plays a critical role in shaping societies and addressing complex challenges that we face today and beyond. Take the example of artificial intelligence (AI). From ChatGPT to more autonomous Agentic AI tools, the rapid development of its functionality and capability has deep and wide-reaching implications for how we live, learn, and work. Governments worldwide are crafting policies to address key concerns such as ethical use, transparency, bias, and societal impact to balance AI-driven economic growth with protecting individuals from harm caused by biased algorithms or misuse of AI technologies. Public policy is also instrumental in driving AI innovation, infrastructure and workforce development and its adoption for improving efficiency and outcomes of public services. The heavy concentration of AI development and deployment capabilities in select countries and a handful of private actors underscores geopolitical stakes. Therefore, public policy will have to play a bigger role in facilitating cross-boundary cooperation to achieve shared standards and frameworks to mitigate risks and promote equitable access to the benefits of AI.

What is the most interesting highlight so far in your career?

Image

Too many to mention….

As of last year, my biggest highlight was initiating knowledge and advisory support on green data centers, which led to ADB’s first-ever green data center transaction and subsequent policy work to develop a sector (investment) roadmap.

This year, ADB has just created a new Digital Sector Office this year (prior to this re-org, digital was a part of a thematic division supporting other Sectors and the private sector operations) and I am processing my first policy-based loan to facilitate a landmark legislative change to and related policy actions that will drastically improve the investment and business environment through a cross-cutting digital transformation of government. Can’t reveal the country just yet but after years of good to be at the frontline of a MDB work. I’m learning tons!

Terry Sanford implored students to 'stand for something.' What do you stand for?

Courage. More precisely, to be courageous to act, not just to speak up, to step up and take on a challenge that others think is impossible or just waste of time, and to lead change. We have enough armchair activists and people with opinions how to do things but not enough people who will act and implement.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it” by Nelson Mandela.

What seeds of change are you planting in your community?

Playing competitive sports – soccer until university, ultimate frisbee until now - has been one of the more important sources of my energy and courage throughout life. Yet, in many parts of Asia, it’s harder for girls and women to start and continue to play sports due to social norms and gender roles. I have co-founded Singapore’s first women’s masters ultimate frisbee club to provide a platform for women athletes to continue to play and compete through life events (marriage, birth of children). I also coach my daughter’s Touch Rugby team with the hope of helping the players develop a healthy lifelong love for team sports.