The Next Five Years at data.org 

Five years ago, data.org was born from a simple yet powerful idea: that data and AI could be transformative when applied for social good.  

For years, increasingly sophisticated data analytics and AI tools – often developed by and for high-income countries – have been driving growth and profits in the commercial sector, but the third sector was increasingly being left behind. As a computer scientist and social scientist by training, I was captivated by the idea of how we could close that gap, by reimagining these solutions for social impact use, developing them in partnership with communities, informed by their local context, and then using them to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges – like climate resilience, financial inclusion, and public health.  

During my five years as CEO, data.org has taken that idea and operationalized it.  

We have facilitated training for more than 150,000 people, giving them the technical skills necessary to put data and AI to work across sectors and geographies. We have built a dynamic network of academic, government, tech, and social impact partners, standing up five capacity accelerator hubs across four continents and creating a set of Digital Public Goods for public health as part of the Epiverse program. And we have launched a series of innovation challenges – including the Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge currently underway with Zoom – that have yielded a growing library of best practices that we share openly with our global audience. All of this has been made possible by our remarkable partners, including our founding funders and longtime champions at the Rockefeller Foundation and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.  

We’ve accomplished a lot together in five years, and as we look to the next five, I am genuinely excited about what’s next – for me, and for data.org. 

Starting in the new year, I will shift from my role as CEO into a new part-time role of Chief Scientist, helping to shepherd data.org into its next chapter by leaning on my skills as a technologist and entrepreneur, while freeing time to start new projects outside of data.org. As the organization has changed from a start-up into a more mature global operation, now is the right time for this change. 

My colleague, Cormekki Whitley, a senior leader at data.org for nearly four years, will step up to serve as interim CEO while a search gets underway for a permanent CEO, and I will work closely with her and the rest of our experienced senior leadership team to renew our commitment to strengthening data and AI for impact around the world.  

The new technological revolution continues to accelerate. Data and AI are becoming ever more central pieces of our lives – at work and at home. But with the vision of purpose-driven leaders like my teammates at data.org and the innovative organizations we serve, we can ensure that the social sector is not left behind.  

It has been an incredible privilege to lead this work for the last five years – and to have such amazing colleagues with whom to collaborate. I can’t wait to see what data.org and our global community of practice will accomplish moving forward!