Tech and Society Week – Behind the Scenes: Understanding Equity and Representation in Government Data hosted by MDI and the Beeck Center
On March 29th from 10:00 to 11:00 in Copley Formal Lounge, the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Massive Data Institute (MDI) and the Beeck Center are hosting a panel on the intersection of data and equity during Tech & Society Week 2023.
Behind the Scenes: Understanding Equity and Representation in Government Data
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
10:00-11:00am
Copley Formal Lounge
The panel discussion will be followed by Coffee Conversations with the panelists.
Panel Abstract: If data is not collected, shared, or used with equity in mind, it can worsen structural inequities in important policy-making and delivery of public services. How might we understand the role of governments and individuals to address equity as we consider data collection, usage and accessibility? Join the panel of experts to discuss how we responsibly use data for data-driven decision making. Following the panel there will be casual coffee conversations from 11:00 to 12:00.
This event is hosted in partnership with the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and the Massive Data Institute at the McCourt School of Public Policy.
This event is open to the public. RSVP required.
Meet the panelists
Moderator: Lynn Overmann is the incoming Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. She currently serves as the Senior Advisor to Ambassador Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Senior Advisor to Mina Hsiang.
Lynn Overmann currently serves as a Senior Advisor for Delivery with the U.S. Digital Service, embedded in the Domestic Policy Council, to advise Ambassador Susan Rice on priority policy implementation. In this role, Lynn oversees teams of digital service experts across diverse projects, including targeted efforts to make the asylum system more effective and humane, increasing access to federal funding for low-capacity communities, and improving the delivery of safety net benefits. Before this role, Lynn served as Senior Advisor for Delivery at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Senior Data Strategist at Opportunity Insights based at Harvard University, Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Obama Administration, and was a civil rights and criminal defense attorney. Lynn brings great knowledge and passion to the topic of data, equity, and the government.
Meeta Anand, J.D., Senior Program Director for Census & Data Equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund
Meeta Anand is a committed and passionate leader fighting for an inclusive democracy. She is Senior Program Director for Census & Data Equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund where she leads the organizations’ efforts in ensuring that federal datasets are capturing all segments of our society in a way that is meaningful for policy-making. She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.A from the The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a B.A. from Tufts University in Political Science and Economics, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
Rita Ko, Chief Data Officer & Director, Racial Equity Analytics Lab at Urban Institute
Rita Ko is a global data strategy and social impact executive with 15 years of experience as a trusted leader, Rita Ko joins Urban from The Hive and USA for UNHCR’s innovation lab, where she was director. Her leadership is based in taking missions and visions to execution by leading multidisciplinary teams, designing technical roadmaps that build capacity, and operationalizing initiatives across organizations. Ko founded the USA for UNHCR Data Advisory Board and is a member of the Harvard Data Science Review Advisory Board. She received a bachelor of economics degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Cornell University.
Milda Aksamitauskas, Fellow of the State Chief Data Officers Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and Former Chief Data Officer at the Department of Justice of the State of Wisconsin
Milda Aksamitauskas is the former Chief Data Officer at the Department of Justice of the State of Wisconsin and is currently a Fellow of the State Chief Data Officers Network at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. She has almost twenty years of experience in Wisconsin state service including serving as the first Chief Data Officer at the Department of Justice and leading a team of analysts at the Office of Health Informatics. She has consulted Lithuania’s Office of the Prime Minister on an open data initiative. Milda is passionate about elevating the potential of government data-driven decision making to create equitable societal change and improve systems.
Accommodations: Please contact mdiresearch@georgetown.edu with any questions about the event, and by March 22, 2023 for accessibility requests.
About the Massive Data Institute (MDI): At Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, the Massive Data Institute (MDI) is an interdisciplinary research institute that connects experts across computer science, data science, public health, public policy, and social science to tackle societal scale issues and impact public policy in ways that improves people’s lives through responsible evidence-based research. For more information on MDI, please visit https://mdi.georgetown.edu/
About the Beeck Center: The Beeck Center improves systems that are the foundation for daily life, using data, design, technology, and policy as instruments for equitable societal change. For more information on the Beeck Center, please visit https://beeckcenter.georgetown.edu/
About Tech & Society Week: Tech & Society Week is a week of events across campus, exploring various issues at the nexus of technology and society. To learn more visit https://techandsociety.georgetown.edu/tech-and-society-week/
Transportation: Georgetown University is accessible for faculty, staff, students and visitors through many convenient transportation options, including our free university shuttle, public transportation, bicycling, carsharing and other means. Learn more about transportation options here.
See here (Interactive map) or here (PDF) for a Georgetown University campus map.
Members of the Public: Georgetown University looks forward to your upcoming visit. This event is following University public health guidelines. Please complete Step #1 now which can be found at this link: https://gucovid.my.site.com/visitor/s/?event=VE7259 and you will be notified about Step #2 the morning of the event. Check-in will be taken at the door.
Questions? Please contact mdiresearch@georgetown.edu.
