The 2024 Datum Awards recognize government data champions who are working on meaningful initiatives that advance the use of data for the public good. The 2024 awards will recognize leaders under all three of the positions established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Evidence Act), political leaders, and other categories aligned with the Data Foundation’s mission.

The Data Foundation has closed nominations for 2024 Datum Awards. The Datum Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at the Open Gov Hub in Washington, D.C.

Nominees are individuals who are champions for the use of data in evidence-informed decision-making, transparency, stakeholder engagement, and accountability. Preferably, nominees will have had a major impact over the past 12 months and they must currently be working in the U.S. federal government. Nominations of corporate, non-profit, and academic leaders without a government affiliation will not be accepted.

Awards will be issued in FIVE categories:

• Data Innovation
• Political Leadership
• Chief Data Officer 
• Chief Evaluation Officer
• Statistical Official

Award Criteria: Accomplishments must have occurred between August 2023 - July 31, 2024. Nominees are individuals who are champions for the use of data in evidence-informed decision-making, transparency, stakeholder engagement, and accountability. Ultimately, those awarded a Datum Award: 

• Made unique contributions to government data policy and/or evidence capacity;
• Have shown sustained interest in using data for the public good;
• Proved to be a model, leader, or champion for the data and evidence community, and;
• Displayed characteristics that reflect the mission and values of the Data Foundation 

Past Winners

2019

• Chief Data Officer – Edward Kearns, Ph.D., Chief Data Officer, Department of Commerce 
• Evaluation Officer – Naomi Goldstein, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services 
• Political Leadership – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) 

2020

• Chief Data Officer – Greg Fortelny, Chief Data Officer, Department of Education, 
• Evaluation Officer – Christina Yancey, Ph.D., Chief Evaluation Officer, Department of Labor
• Political Leadership – Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Political Leadership
• Data Innovator – Victoria (Tori) Velkoff, Associate Director for Demographic Programs, Census Bureau, Department of Commerce

2021

• Chief Data Officer – Brandon Pustejovsky, Chief Data Officer, United States Agency for International Development
• Evaluation Officer – Katherine Dawes, Evaluation Officer, Environmental Protection Agency
• Political Leadership – Congressman Don Beyer, U.S. House of Representatives

2022

• Statistical Official – Shelly Wilkie Martinez, Senior Statistician, White House Office of Management and Budget
• Chief Evaluation Officer – Matthew Soldner, Ph.D., Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Education
• Customer Experience Official – Barbara Morton, Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Data Innovation – Mike Willis, Associate Director, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Chief Data Officer – Samuel C. “Chris” Haffer, Ph.D., Chief Data Officer, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Political Leadership – Senator Brian Schatz, U.S. Senate

2023 

• Political Leadership – Dominique Duval-Diop, Ph.D., Chief Data Scientist, White House Office of Science and Technology
• Chief Data Officer  – Ren Essene, Chief Data Officer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• Chief Evaluation Officer – Susan Jenkins, Ph.D., Evaluation Officer and Director, Division of Evidence, Evaluation and Data Policy, Office of Science and Data Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Statistical Official – Alex Marten, Ph.D., Statistical Official and Associate Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Data Innovation – Nick Pallotta, Project Manager, USDA (Democratizing Data: The 5 W's)
• 2023 Organizational Leadership Role – Hudson Hollister, Co-founder and CEO, HData
• 2023 Organizational Leadership Role – John Runyan, President, Runyan Public Affairs (retired)