Keyana Pusey

Protector of public trust: Keyana Pusey

School/College: College of Liberal Arts
Degree/Year: BA, criminal justice and political science, 2018
Hometown: Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Current Job Title: Assistant general counsel of intellectual property
Current Employer: National Association of Broadcasters

Every broadcaster could use a good lawyer in their corner, and Keyana Pusey, CLA ’18, is a rising star in the field. As an attorney for the trade group National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Keyana helps television and radio stations nationwide navigate complex IP challenges, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence on broadcaster content. She also advises on copyright and trademark matters and advances broadcasters’ interests in federal advocacy and regulatory proceedings.

A Supreme accomplishment. During her Ringer Fellowship, Keyana assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in creating a brief submitted to the Supreme Court as it considered Warhol v. Goldsmith, a copyright case involving a photo taken by the famous artist Andy Warhol. Her name was ultimately included among the authors of the brief, a rare accomplishment for someone just out of law school.

Keyana was first captivated by Temple in ninth grade when she tagged along with her older brother during a tour. Then a student at a predominantly Black Catholic grade school, Keyana loved the diversity and urban character of the campus on North Broad. Once enrolled, she benefitted from supportive College of Liberal Arts faculty and a pair of internships with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and D.C.’s Public Defender Service, experiences that proved valuable when applying to law school.

When a deepfake video of two broadcast TV anchors was uploaded to social media falsely depicting them making racist remarks, it became a stark example of how generative AI can distort legitimate news content and undermine public trust. For broadcasters, whose value depends on credibility, this kind of misinformation poses serious reputational and financial risks. Keyana uses examples like this in her advocacy before federal policymakers, including the U.S. Copyright Office, to argue for clearer rules and guardrails that protect broadcaster content and preserve trust in local journalism.

A native of nearby Prince George’s County, Keyana knows her way around the nation’s capital. After graduating from American University’s prestigious Washington College of Law, Keyana was named a Barbara A. Ringer Copyright Fellow and spent nearly two years working in the U.S. Copyright Office, learning firsthand how federal intellectual property regulations are made. While in law school, she also served as student attorney with a pro bono intellectual property law clinic on campus and interned with PBS.

“We need guardrails on AI. Innovation is good, but the spreading of misinformation and deepfakes can cause people to lose trust. And if journalists, especially local journalists, don’t have the trust of the people, it skews how people understand the world.”

—Keyana Pusey
Assistant general counsel of intellectual property