U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces Top Data Leaders to Join New Data Advisory Council

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced the members of the new Commerce Data Advisory Council (CDAC), who include 19 of the best and brightest private and public sector thought leaders on data management and dissemination in the United States. The Council will help guide the Commerce Department’s data revolution, which aims to foster innovation, help create jobs, and drive better decision-making throughout our economy and society.

"As ‘America’s Data Agency,’ we are working to unleash more of the Commerce Department’s data to strengthen our nation’s economic growth,” said Secretary Pritzker. “I am thrilled with the experts representing a diverse range of sectors from across the United States who have agreed to serve on our Data Advisory Council. Together, they will help us make our data easier to access and use, and maximize the return of data investments for entrepreneurs, government, businesses, communities and taxpayers.”

Click here for the list of Data Advisory Council members.

Commerce Department data inform decisions that help make government smarter, keep businesses more competitive and better inform citizens about their own communities – with the potential to guide up to $3.3 trillion in investments in the United States each year. The 19 members of the Commerce Data Advisory Council (CDAC) will provide Secretary Pritzker and the Department’s senior leadership with guidance on areas such as data management practices; common, open data standards; policy issues related to privacy, latency, and consistency; effective models for public-private partnership; external uses of Commerce data; and, methods to build new feedback loops between the Department and data users.

Members were chosen to ensure representation from the entire spectrum of Commerce data including demographic, economic, scientific, environmental, patent, and geospatial data. The leaders come from the information technology, NGO, non-profit, and academic communities, and from local governments—individuals who appreciate the range of data that the Department of Commerce distributes and the full lifecycle of data collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination. They offer a balanced perspective and varied expertise to ensure meaningful dialogue and guidance on how the Commerce Department can realize its vision as America’s Data Agency.

The Data Advisory Council will be housed in the Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration, and members will serve two-year terms. To learn more about Data Advisory Council, visit: http://www.esa.doc.gov/content/commerce-data-advisory-council-cdac.