Denice W Ross (she/her)

Denice Ross is a data policy executive, strategist, and national champion of public interest technology whose government leadership roles have included the City of New Orleans and two stints in the White House. She currently serves as Director of the Data Policy Institute at the Federation of American Scientists, where she is catalyzing the field of public data policy. She is also a nonresident Fellow at the Urban Institute.

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, Denice spearheaded federal efforts to use disaggregated data to deliver better outcomes for all Americans. Her 25-year career pioneering the strategic use of data to tackle complex societal challenges includes tenures as a Presidential Innovation Fellow in the Obama Administration, where she co-founded the Police Data Initiative, and as Director of Enterprise Information for the City of New Orleans, where she architected Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s open data strategy. Following Hurricane Katrina, she partnered with the Brookings Institution to design the definitive data framework for tracking the city’s resurgence.

Denice is a sought-after commentator on the state of local and federal data. Her insights and analysis have been featured across major media outlets, including The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Guardian, NPR, Marketplace, and The Washington Post. She holds a Master of Science in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Arizona, where she was a Goldwater Scholar.