Dona Mathew

Dona is a lawyer with experience in public policy research and legislative drafting. At Digital Futures Lab, her work focuses on the ethics of data and artificial intelligence, particularly at the nexus of climate action and legal institutions.

She has been part of DFL’s flagship research AI + Climate Futures in Asia with The Rockefeller Foundation. She has also led research for Code Green, a media series that explores contemporary themes in AI and climate.

For DFL’s AI Justice project, Dona conducted qualitative interviews and secondary research, co-authoring Smart Automation and AI in India’s Judicial System. This work provides critical insights into the risks of unexamined AI adoption in courts. Since July 2025, she has been developing guiding frameworks for AI integration in Indian courts.

Before joining DFL, Dona was a researcher at National Law University Delhi, where she led projects on empirical legal research in India and reforms in criminal law, with a focus on evidence laws. With the UN Women’s Multi-Country Office in India, she developed policy interventions aimed at advancing women's economic empowerment, gender mainstreaming, and improving performance on gender indices.

Early on, Dona worked at the Centre for Policy Research, where she conducted quantitative research on education reforms and teacher time use in public schools across New Delhi.

She holds a Master’s degree in Constitutional and Criminal Laws from NLU Delhi and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Institute of Law, Nirma University.