Director of Standards, AI Verification and Evaluation Research Institute (AVERI); Research Affiliate, RAND and Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative
UW Majors: Agricultural and Applied Economics; Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies
As an undergraduate, Paskov felt empowered to explore a wide range of interests and activities, both in the classroom and outside it. She founded an Oxfam chapter; joined an a cappella group, a sailing team, and the Associated Students of Madison; volunteered as an English tutor; served as a writing fellow; and interned with the Wisconsin State Senate. Working closely with adviser Jennifer Alix-Garcia, Paskov designed and implemented a quantitative field study in Mexico on migration, women’s empowerment, and agriculture — an experience she describes as foundational to her career. Through the UW’s international programs, she studied in Bangkok, Thailand, and Lima, Peru, broadening her perspective and sparking a lasting interest in global work.
“The UW allowed me to pursue a range of experiences all at once,” Paskov says. “As someone extremely curious about the world, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Paskov returned to Peru after graduation and ran randomized trials on financial inclusion and education programs. She continued similar work in Paraguay with UW professor Laura Schechter. After earning her master’s degree at the Barcelona School of Economics, she took on a broader role at the World Bank, designing a portfolio of policy evaluations across multiple countries.
Paskov completed additional graduate studies at the European University Institute in Italy before stepping into a data science position at Condé Nast — shifting from informing policy through field research to working with millions of real-time user interactions.
These experiences now inform her work as Director of Standards at the AI Verification and Evaluation Research Institute (AVERI) and Adjunct Researcher at the RAND Center on AI, Security, and Technology. Her work involves designing methods and standards to evaluate the capabilities and risks of advanced AI systems. She is also a research affiliate at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, an instructor for the International Programme on AI Evaluation, resilience section lead for the 2026 International AI Safety Report, and cofounder of NYC AI Governance and Safety in New York City.
Paskov is increasingly focused on how AI systems perform in the wild — not only in isolated, pre-deployment tests, but in the real world, where AI systems interact with distinct users, environments, and other AI systems. While maintaining her other roles, she will continue her education with a part-time doctorate program in fall 2026 at the University of Oxford Department of Engineering, with a focus on multi-agent security.
Paskov says that the rapid growth of AI worldwide presents unprecedented opportunities and risks at scale. “Novel consequences will likely emerge for which we don’t yet have the infrastructure, evaluations, or governance,” she says. “Evaluations are one piece of that puzzle, and I’m excited about strengthening the tools and incentives for decision-makers and society to maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI.”