Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building

The Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building was charged with reviewing, analyzing, and making recommendations on how to promote the use of Federal data for evidence building. Its duties included assisting the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on issues of access to data and providing recommendations on how to facilitate data sharing, data linkage, and privacy enhancing techniques. The Advisory Committee reviewed the coordination of data sharing or availability of data for evidence building across all agencies.

The Committee, which OMB delegated to the Commerce Department's Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, has submitted its final report on its activities, findings, and recommendations to the OMB Director and published the report online Oct. 14, 2022.

ACDEB Year 2 Report Supplemental Information

ACDEB Year 1 Report

Current Members

Laila Alequresh

U.S. Department of Transportation

Laila Alequresh is the Chief Innovation Officer at the United States Department of Transportation. She is responsible for the development and deployment of the department wide innovation strategy, establishing a culture of innovation, and partnering with innovation and thought leaders across the department. Ms. Alequresh serves as the resident innovation expert and leads the Office of Innovation and Emerging Technologies with a dual mission to explore internal efficiencies and processes that drive a high performing organization and external innovation engagement with emerging technology firms that focus on artificial intelligence, IoT, Smart Cities, etc. Core to this mission is centering the user experience in interactions with DOT, from grants to systems to websites; and optimizing where and when technology can be used to advance access and equity in transportation. Ms. Alequresh has more than 15 years of experience in innovation, strategy, performance, data, and design across the civic, nonprofit and corporate sectors. She previously served as an innovation leader at the local government level and brings that experience to the department.

Richard Allen, Ph.D.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Richard Allen is the Chief Data Officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Previously he ran the data visualization program for EPA, has served as a Senior Advisor for data analytics and acted as the Deputy Geospatial Information Officer. He started his federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow and while a fellow did a one-year rotational assignment to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Throughout his federal career his focus is on building communities and systems to enable improved sharing, analysis and display of data and information. Dr. Allen earned a Ph.D. in Ecology from Cornell University.

Otis Brown, Ph.D.

North Carolina State University

Dr. Otis Brown currently serves as the director of the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies/ Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-North Carolina State University. Dr. Brown is a renowned expert in earth science and computer sciences, with extensive experience working with government data across the earth sciences including extensive work with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. His background provides an important perspective on data beyond the human services and economics realm.

Leonard Burman, Ph.D.

Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center / Syracuse University

Dr. Leonard Burman serves dual roles as a fellow at the Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center, which he cofounded, and as the Paul Volcker Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dr. Burman is renowned expert in research and evaluation methods, as well as an expert in statistical data use. He is currently leading a significant effort to develop synthetic tax data, a potential breakthrough effort to increase data access while preserving confidentiality.

Charles Cutshall

U.S. Department of Commerce

With over a decade of experience leading and transforming privacy programs across the Federal Government, Charles Cutshall is one of the most trusted privacy professionals working in Washington, D.C. today. In August 2022, he began serving as the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and Director of Open Government at the U.S. Department of Commerce as the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and Director of Open Government for the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he has agency-wide responsibility and accountability for the Department's privacy program, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), principles of transparency and open government, and management of the Department's directives management program. Previously, Charles served as the CPO for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) where he was responsible for managing privacy risks to individuals and to the Commission associated with the processing of personally identifiable information and for providing policy and programmatic oversight of the CFTC's privacy program. Prior to joining the CFTC, Charles served in the Executive Office of the President where he was responsible for overseeing Federal agencies' privacy programs, developing Federal privacy policy, and helping Federal agencies solve privacy problems. His prior experience also includes developing enterprise-wide privacy policies and supporting privacy compliance programs at both the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. Charles is member of the Robert S. Brookings Society at the Brookings Institution. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and a Certified Information Privacy Professional. In 2019, the International Association of Privacy Professional designated Charles as a Fellow of Information Privacy. Charles holds a B.A. and M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Shawn Davis

Edelson PC

Shawn Davis is Director of Digital Forensics at Edelson PC, a nationally recognized law firm in plaintiffs' class, mass, and government enforcement actions. At Edelson, he leads a technical team that uncovers major privacy and cybersecurity violations and plays a key role in advising organizations on how to remediate such issues. Additionally, Mr. Davis is an Adjunct Industry Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology where he teaches and designs the curriculum for digital evidence and cybersecurity courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Mr. Davis also regularly works with attorneys general of various states, briefs members of Congress, and testifies as a subject matter expert for the Illinois state legislature. His work helps lawmakers and regulators easily understand complex privacy and cybersecurity issues as well as illustrates how personal data is being collected, stored, and used by industry.

Greg Fortelny

U.S. Department of Education

Greg Fortelny is the U.S. Department of Education's Chief Data Officer. Mr. Fortelny started his public sector career as a statistician using data to improve student outcomes and business operations in the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). There he helped establish FSA's Enterprise Data Office and became FSA's Director of Statistical Research and Modeling. In 2018 Mr. Fortelny became the Director of the Program and Policy Studies Service, the department's internal think tank responsible for conducting policy analysis and developing consumer information tools such as the College Scorecard.

Nicholas Hart, Ph.D.

The Data Coalition

Dr. Nick Hart is the President of the Data Foundation, a non-profit think tank that serves to improve government and society by using data to inform public policymaking. Dr. Hart is an expert in program evaluation, a former Office of Management and Budget official, and the former Policy and Research Director of the U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. He previously served as Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Evidence Project and is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Christine Heflin

U.S. Department of Commerce

Since 2010, Chris has served as the Director of Performance Excellence and the Deputy Performance Improvement Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, she is charged with coordinating the development of Commerce's Strategic Plan and OMB required reporting on plan implementation and progress. She also promotes the deployment of the Federal Performance Framework that integrates evidence-based planning, budgeting, and management into "an organization learning system". Chris is currently on detail to the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs to collaborate with the Department's Statistical Official and Chief Data Officer on implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and the Federal Data Strategy. As the Department's interim Chief Evaluation Officer, Chris is also leading the development of the Commerce's Learning Agenda, Evaluation Plan and Evaluation Capacity Assessment. Chris served as an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality program and was the city's Internal Consultant when Coral Springs, Florida became the first government to win the prestigious Baldrige Award. As a consultant to NATO, Chris developed the organization's system of Balanced Scorecards. Additionally, Chris has served as the Director of Budget and Research of Pima County, Arizona; as a Consultant/Trainer for the Florida Institute of Government; and served on the Board of the League of Women Voters in two Florida counties. Chris holds a B.A. in Political Science from McDaniel College and a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Maryland.

Anna S. Hui

State of Missouri

Anna Hui currently serves as the director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Ms. Hui is a seasoned leader with state, federal, non-profit, and private sector experience spearheading domestic and international policymaking, global strategy, communications, diplomacy, and change management. She has previously served as an Associate Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor with special emphasis on outreach programs for the domestic and international communities of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and other historically underserved communities.

Barry Johnson

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Barry Johnson serves as the Internal Revenue Service's Acting Chief Research and Analytics Officer and as director of the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Division. The SOI division is the nation's premier source of information about the tax system. Unlike many federal statistical agencies, most SOI data are derived from administrative records (tax returns), rather than surveys. During his service with the division he has worked extensively on studies of the federal transfer tax system; the distribution of U.S. personal wealth; and issues related to data quality, data access, privacy protection, and the use of administrative data for statistical purposes. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Ted Kaouk, Ph.D.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Ted Kaouk serves as the Chief Data Officer (CDO) at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Mr. Kaouk previously served as the CDO at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and as Chief of Staff in the USDA Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Mr. Kaouk began Federal service in 2011 as a project manager for the CIO at USDA Rural Development (RD). Before joining CIO, he served in the RD Office of the Under Secretary as special assistant and program manager for strategic project. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and started his career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy.

Elisabeth Kovacs

State of South Carolina

Elisabeth Kovacs is the deputy director of Workforce Development at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, where she manages and provides oversight for all statewide workforce-related initiatives. In her role as deputy director, Ms. Kovacs and team serve as the agency lead for the South Carolina Coordinating Council on Workforce Development, a collaborative of state agencies involved in the education and training of the South Carolina workforce. Ms. Kovacs assisted in the development of South Carolina's first workforce and education longitudinal data legislation, receiving guidance from the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness. Additionally, she recently played an instrumental role in developing the internationally recognized ManuFirstSC program, designed to jumpstart manufacturing careers for prospective employees with a certificate in lieu of experience.

Edward Kwartler

DataRobot, Inc

Edward (Ted) Kwartler is Vice President, Trusted Artificial Intelligence at DataRobot, Inc. based in Boston, MA. At DataRobot, Mr. Kwartler sets product strategy for explainable and ethical uses of data technology in the company's application. Through his current position and his previous employment in a major insurance company and the IT industry he brings unique insights and experience with data ethics and transparency.

Julia Lane, Ph.D.

New York University

Dr. Julia Lane is a professor at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Dr. Lane is an economist and statistician who has been actively involved inthe management and linkage of federal, state and local data as well as producing new data products. She has been involved in founding many successful and accessible data analysis platforms, including the U.S. Census Bureau's Longitudinal Employer–Household Dynamics program, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's PatentView, the integrated data infrastructure for StatsNew Zealand, and the Coleridge Initiative's Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF)

Christin Lotz

State of Tenessee

A 15-year veteran of state government, Christin Lotz serves as the director of the Office of Evidence and Impact in the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. Her previous state government roles include working as the Department of Revenue's Research director and in the Policy Office for former Governor Bill Haslam. Throughout her career, Christin has been heavily involved in public policy-making and implementation, legislative affairs, and analytical research. In her current role, Christin is focused on using data to inform decision makers to ensure the state invests in programs that work for Tennesseans. Christin has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Nashville School of Law.

Brian Moyer, Ph.D.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Brian Moyer is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. Dr. Moyer has served as the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis and as Acting Under Secretary for Economic Affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He is the author of numerous articles on measuring the performance of the U.S. economy. Much of his research has focused on improving industry-related statistics, including expanded use of "big data" and associated platforms. His leadership of collaborative scientific research has made full use of new methodologies and data sources to develop statistical products, including machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence, administrative data, and private industry data sources. In his role as the Commerce Department's head statistical official, Dr. Moyer has been instrumental in implementation of the Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking Act of 2018.

Kimberly A. Murnieks

State of Ohio

Kimberly Murnieks is the director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, serving as the Chief Financial Officer for the state. As a senior level state government official and experienced manager, Ms. Murnieks has experience in cyber security, state finance and fiscal data transparency, and statewide policy and operational matters. In her previous role as Chief Operating Officer for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, she designed and implemented the award-winning CyberOhio Initiative, which provides a collection of cybersecurity initiatives to Ohio's businesses to prevent and prepare for cyber-attacks, and developed and worked with the Ohio General Assembly to enact the state's Data Protection Act, a one-of-kind statute that provides real incentive for businesses to safeguard consumer data.

Amy O'Hara, Ph.D.

Federal Statistical Research Data Center / Georgetown University

Dr. Amy O'Hara is the director of the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy's Federal Statistical Research Data Center. She also serves as a Research Professor at the University's Massive Data Institute. Dr. O'Hara is a leading expert in data linkage and data management and is a former director of the U. S. Census Bureau's Center for Administrative Records and Research, a key model for a future Federal Data Service.

David Park

National League of Cities

David Park serves as Director of Data & Business Analytics at the National League of Cities (NLC). He leads development of strategy and infrastructure that supports data‐driven policy- and decision-making within NLC and across its network of 19,000 municipalities around the country. Mr. Park is a skilled leader and project manager with 15+ years of experience in management consulting and public policy. He has managed complex problem‐solving initiatives for non‐governmental, public, and private sector clients and has held positions at Urban Land Institute, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Brookings Institution.

Todd Richardson

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Todd Richardson serves as General Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Richardson heads HUD's research arm of approximately 145 staff that manage national surveys, conduct and manage research and program evaluations, and develop program parameter data to support HUD's major programs. He has developed several funding allocations formulas for HUD programs, including the Indian Housing Block Grant Formula, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program formula, and formulas to allocate post-disaster supplemental appropriations.

Emilda Rivers

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics / National Science Foundation

Emilda B. Rivers is the Director of the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), a principal statistical agency housed as a division within the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Social, Behavioral and Economic Directorate. NCSES serves as a clearinghouse for information on the U.S. science and engineering enterprise, often in a global context. Prior to her appointment as NCSES Director, Emilda was the NCSES Deputy Director. Having worked at the Census Bureau and the Energy Information Administration, she has extensive experience in the Federal statistical system where she often spearheaded efforts to provide previously missing data critical to decision making. In 2017, she was named by Forbes as one of 25 Women Leading Data and Analytics in the U.S. Government. Ms. Rivers received a Bachelor's of Science in mathematics from South Carolina State University and a Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Matthew Soldner, Ph.D.

National Center for Education Evaluation/ U.S. Department of Education

Matthew serves as Commissioner, National Center for Education Evaluation and as the Chief Evaluation Officer at U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Soldner's expertise includes the design and implementation of complex, mixed-methods evaluations; innovative practices designed to improve student outcomes after high-school; postsecondary competency-based education; federal financial aid; and federal statistical policy and practice. His Ph.D. is from the University of Maryland's College of Education.

Kenneth Troske, Ph.D.

University of Kentucky

Dr. Kenneth Troske is an accomplished researcher and program evaluation practitioner, with considerable experience on programs involving both state and Federal data. Dr. Troske holds the Richard W. and Janis H. Furst Endowed Chair in Economics at the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics. Until recently he served as the college's Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Outreach. He is a former U.S. Census Bureau researcher and served as a member of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Oversight Commission. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Mayank Varia, Ph.D.

Boston University

Mayank Varia is a Research Associate Professor of Computer Science at Boston University. His research spans cryptography and its application to problems throughout and beyond computer science, and his work has been featured in media outlets like CNET, The Hill, and ZDNet. In particular, he has designed cryptographically secure multi-party computation systems for use in measuring Boston's gender wage gap and identifying repeat offenders of sexual assault. He is a co-director of BU's Center for Reliable Information Systems & Cyber Security (RISCS), a member of BU's Cyber Security, Law, and Society Alliance, and an institute fellow in BU's Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy.

Christina Yancey, Ph.D.

U.S. Department of Labor

Christina Yancey, Ph.D., is the Chief Evaluation Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor. She is responsible for coordinating the Department's evaluation agenda and working with all agencies to design and implement evaluations. In addition to overseeing the conduct of evaluations, her office leads the Department of Labor's implementation of several key aspects of the Evidence Act, including its annual Evaluation Plan, multi-year Evidence-Building Plan, and Research Capacity assessments. Christina has over 15 years of experience in overseeing and conducting research on employment and other social policies and programs, and in working with policy makers and practitioners to build and apply evidence. Dr. Yancey has a PhD in Justice and Public Policy from American University and an MA in Criminology from University of Maryland, College Park.

Meetings

Facilitated Discussions

Elizabeth (Meagan) Tydings, ACDEB Assistant Designated Federal Officer
Facilitated Discussion: Outstanding Report Items and Options
Elizabeth (Meagan) Tydings, ACDEB Assistant Designated Federal Officer
Facilitated Discussion: Committee Reflections and the Next Chapter
Alyssa Holdren, ACDEB Designated Federal Officer
Facilitated Discussion: Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement

Committee's Next Steps and Action Items

Emilda Rivers, ACDEB Chair
Committee's Next Steps and Action Items

July 22, 2022

Watch the eighteenth meeting of the ACDEB

Agenda

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes

Year 2 Report: Expectations, Timeline, and Deliverables

Emilda Rivers, ACDEB Chair
Year 2 Report: Expectations, Timeline, and Deliverables

Facilitated Discussions

Nick Hart, ACDEB Member
Resources and Funding
Charles Cutshall and Julia Lane, ACDEB Members
Governance, Transparency, and Accountability: Subcommittee Report Summary
Governance, Transparency, and Accountability: Discussion
Amy O'Hara and David Park, ACDEB Members
Technical Infrastructure

Recommendations Summary with Committee Discussion

Emilda Rivers, ACDEB Chair
Recommendations Summary

Supplemental Materials

Charles Cutshall and Julia Lane, ACDEB Members
Governance, Transparency, and Accountability Recommendations
Kimberly Murnieks and Matthew Soldner, ACDEB Members
Other Services and Capacity-Building Opportunities Recommendations
Anna Hui and Kenneth Troske, ACDEB Members
Government Data for Evidence Building Recommendations
Nicholas Hart and Christine Heflin, ACDEB Members
Legislation and Regulations Recommendations

May 20, 2022

Watch the seventeenth meeting of the ACDEB

Agenda

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes

Recommendations Summary

Emilda Rivers, ACDEB Chair
Recommendations Summary

Subcommittee Reports

Charles Cutshall and Julia Lane, ACDEB Members
Governance, Transparency, and Accountability
Kimberly Murnieks and Matthew Soldner, ACDEB Members
Other Services and Capacity-Building Opportunities
Amy O'Hara and David Park, ACDEB Members
Technical Infrastructure
Anna Hui and Kenneth Troske, ACDEB Members
Government Data for Evidence Building
Nicholas Hart and Christine Heflin, ACDEB Members
Legislation and Regulations