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| 2 Sep 2026 | |
| Press Releases and Statements |
Washington, D.C., September 2, 2026 – As it marks its 10th anniversary, the Data Foundation today announced an expansion of its senior leadership and the relaunch of its Data Coalition membership community. This is a long-planned step in the Data Foundation’s evolution as it scales its policy, research, and impact work to meet a pivotal moment for government data and evidence. The changes advance several of the Data Foundation's own leaders into expanded roles and reflect years of deliberate growth across the organization.
The expansion has been long in the making. Founded in 2016, the Data Foundation has grown over the past decade into a leading nonpartisan institution in the data and evidence field — now home to more than two dozen fellows and multiple program centers, with a steadily expanding research, advocacy, and convening footprint. Its work today spans portfolios that include data policy, evidence capacity, climate and environmental data, government affairs, and data communications, and the Data Coalition.
"This is a moment of real growth for the Data Foundation, and it comes precisely when the country needs trusted, nonpartisan stewards of its data more than ever," said Nick Hart, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Data Foundation. "We are building the durable, AI-ready data infrastructure the country needs, and a team built to outlast any single administration or news cycle, by elevating leaders who have already proven what evidence-informed government can deliver for the American people."
Leading the Data Foundation's program centers — the Center for Evidence Capacity, the Center for Data Policy, and the Center for Climate and Environmental Data — is Taka Ariga, who has been elevated to Vice President for Data Policy and Impact. Ariga initially joined the Data Foundation as a Senior Fellow in 2025, then became Senior Director of the Center for Data Policy in 2026. He previously served as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Chief Data Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and, before that, as the first Chief Data Scientist and Director of the Innovation Lab at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
"The choices being made about federal data infrastructure will shape public trust, program integrity, and innovation for decades," said Ariga. "I'm grateful for the chance to help the Data Foundation's programs demonstrate, in practical terms, the value of open data and rigorous evidence, alongside a team and a community with an established record of turning good ideas into lasting policy."
Overseeing the Data Foundation's communications and operations, and the strategy and organizational effectiveness that sustain the organization's growth, is Ashley Nelle-Davis, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Management and the Data Foundation's longest-serving staff member, who was promoted to Vice President earlier this year and leads the organization’s work on financial data transparency.
The Data Foundation also announced the promotion of Annique Garnier to Associate Director in the Center for Data Policy, reflecting the organization's investment in developing leadership across its programs. Garnier has been central to the Center's cross-sector policy analysis and rapid-response work, including leading the research for the chief data officer community. In her expanded role, she will help direct the Center's research portfolio and partner coordination.
The same evolution is reshaping the Data Foundation's membership and advocacy work. The Data Coalition, which merged into the Data Foundation in 2020, is being relaunched under a refreshed brand — the Data Coalition, a Data Foundation Community — with a sharpened focus on uniting cross-sector leaders to champion high-value, high-impact data. The community brings together data and technology firms, consultancies, nonprofits, universities, and public-sector organizations behind a shared, nonpartisan agenda. Its members have helped advance every major federal data law of the past decade, from the DATA Act of 2014 to the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, and the refreshed focus gives them proactive, structured ways to shape what comes next. Membership is open to any organization committed to responsible data policy.
The community will next gather at govDATAx 2026, the Data Foundation's flagship national convening, on September 15 at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Under the theme, "Realizing the Value of Public Data," leaders from across government, research, industry, and civil society will make the affirmative case for public data — and examine the real costs when it is missing. Registration is free for Data Coalition members.
Together, these changes mark a deliberate stage in the Data Foundation's growth and position the organization to deliver on its strategic agenda as a trusted, nonpartisan authority on open data and evidence-informed policy.
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The Data Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that champions the use of open data and evidence-informed public policy to make society better for everyone. As a nonpartisan think tank, we conduct research, collaborative thought leadership, and advocacy programs that advance practical policies for the creation and use of accessible, trustworthy data. Our activities proactively address emerging data-related needs in the country with the goal of devising realistic solutions, accelerating policy coordination, and advancing innovation. The Data Foundation is recognized by Candid Guidestar with the Platinum Seal of Transparency and received 4-Stars from Charity Navigator. To learn more, visit www.datafoundation.org. (LEI: 254900I43CTC59RFW495)
J.B. Wogan, Director of Communications,
Phone: 202-964-1120
Email: media@datafoundation.org
