PARTNERS

A wide range of partners - from governments, the private sector, civil society, the UN system, and the scientific and academic communities - collaborate in the organization of the United Nations World Data Forum. A Programme Committee, composed of experts and leaders from diverse stakeholder groups, is responsible for guiding the design of the Forum's sessions across the four thematic areas. The Terms of Reference for the Programme Committee established by the HLG-PCCB can be found here.

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE

Camilo Mendez

Head of International Affairs, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE-Colombia)

Co-Chair, United Nations World Data Forum Programme Committee

Camilo Méndez has been the Head of Internacional Affairs at the National Statistical Office of Colombia (DANE) since 2020 where he has led the institution’s global engagement strategy in collaboration with international partners. He successfully led the bid, planning, and organization of the fifth United Nations World Data Forum, from the host country perspective, contributing to the development of the Medellín Framework for Action on Data for Sustainable Development. He was also the co-chair of the United Nations Working Group on measurement of development support, overseeing the development of the methodology for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 17.3.1. Within DANE, he has contributed to institutional strengthening through the formalization of the international affairs office and its integration with the SDG office, while providing strategic advice on international cooperation to senior leadership.

He holds a master’s degree in politics and development of the Global South from Sciences Po Bordeaux, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.

Vjollca Simoni

Director of European Integration and International Cooperation, INSTAT, Albania

Co-Chair, United Nations World Data Forum Programme Committee

Vjollca Simoni is Director of European Integration and International Cooperation at the Albanian Institute of Statistics INSTAT, where she leads engagement with the European Statistical System and international partners, including Eurostat and the United Nations. She contributes to Albania’s EU integration in statistics and to the coordination of work on the Sustainable Development Goals.

She has over 20 years of experience in official statistics, international cooperation and communication, and contributes to Albania’s participation in international statistical initiatives, including SDG reporting and EU accession processes. She has also been involved in major national statistical operations, including the Population and Housing Census.

INSTAT represents Albania in the UN High-Level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for the 2030 Agenda (HLG-PCCB), where she contributes to its work. She is also a member of the UNECE Steering Group on Statistics for SDGs and contributes to other UNECE and European Statistical System (ESS) expert groups and international statistical networks.

Karla Yee Amezaga

Initiatives Lead, AI and Data Governance, World Economic Forum (WEF)

Karla Yee Amezaga is lead of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Governance at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Originally from Mexico, she is passionate about exploring the ways in which AI, data and technology can promote digital transformation of governments, public-private collaboration, and inclusive development around the world. Prior to joining the WEF, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), supporting digital government and statistical capacity building projects. Before that, she worked at the World Bank, OECD, Ashoka Changemakers, and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the University of California - San Diego (UCSD), and bachelor’s degrees in political science and in international relations from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM).

Ziad Abdallah

Director General, Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS)

Ziad Abdallah is the Director General of the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), where he leads capacity-building initiatives for Arab statistical agencies, ensuring alignment with global standards and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring framework. He previously served as a data scientist at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and as Chief of IT at Lebanon’s Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), where he pioneered innovative solutions such as the Degree of urbanisation system (DEGURBA) —a UN-recognized best practice—integrating AI, big data, and geospatial tools into official statistics. He also served as CAS’s focal point for Lebanon’s Disaster and Risk Unit.

Beyond his institutional roles, he is a dedicated educator and regional trainer, with decades of experience shaping the next generation of statisticians and data professionals. He has been a lecturer and tutor at leading academic institutions, including at the Lebanese University, the Beirut Arab University (BAU), ISAE-CNAM affiliated with France’s Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA-Lebanon).

He holds a doctorate degree in information technology from the Beirut Arab University and an engineering degree in statistics. He combines technical rigor and a passion for education to advance statistical excellence in the Arab region and beyond.

Intisar Al-Wahaibi

Director General, Gulf Cooperation Council Statistical Center (GCC-STAT)

Intisar Abdullah Mubarak Al-Wahaibi has been actively involved in the development of national strategies and planning in the past ten years. She has played a key role in formulating social and economic policies for development, leading the planning team responsible for the development of Oman’s ninth and tenth five-year development plans, as well as the first and second Voluntary National Report (VNR) on the Sustainable Development Goals and the national policies project.

She possesses extensive experience, having held various significant positions throughout her career. She served as the Director General of Development Planning at the Ministry of Economy in the Sultanate of Oman and worked as a coordinator for economic sectors in the National Risk Management Register. She also held the position of Vice Chair of Haya Water Company and chaired the company’s executive committee. Additionally, she has worked as a national project manager for several projects and cooperation programs between Oman and multiple international and intergovernmental organizations. Furthermore, she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Planning Institute and the advisory council of the College of Arts at Sultan Qaboos University and served as the Chair of the Voting Committee for the tenth term of the Consultative Assembly elections.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in strategic studies for national security and defense from Sultan Qaboos University, in addition to a postgraduate diploma from the National Defense College.

Javier Bussi

Director & Professor, School of Statistics, National University of Rosario

Javier Bussi is a senior member of the School of Statistics at the National University of Rosario in Argentina. He has worked in the school since 1993 and has held various positions, including teaching assistant, adjunct Professor, and associate Professor. He has worked in various fields in statistics, including clinical trials, time series, and official statistics. He teaches courses in non-parametric statistics, econometrics and time series analysis, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. Currently his research interests are statistical disclosure control and non-parametric methods.

He holds a degree in statistics from the National University of Rosario and a Master´s degree in applied statistics from the University of Michigan.

Shaida Badiee

Co-founder and Managing Director, Open Data Watch (ODW)

Shaida Badiee is the Managing Director of Open Data Watch, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing open and inclusive data through collaboration with national statistical offices worldwide. She is a trusted advisor to organizations such as Data2X on closing gender data gaps, PARIS21 on financing for development data, and UNFPA on strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems through a gender lens. She has served on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on the Data Revolution and twice co-chaired the UN World Data Forum Program Committee for the fourth and fifth Forum held in China and Colombia.

Drawing on several decades of leadership in global development statistics, she previously served as Director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group, where she oversaw the creation of flagship statistical products including the World Development Indicators, Global Development Finance, and the Atlas of Global Development. In 2010, she spearheaded the World Bank’s pioneering Open Data Initiative, granting free public access to the Bank’s extensive statistical databases. Earlier, she played a pivotal role in launching PARIS21 and in leading global efforts to coordinate technical and financial support for statistics, including the Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics.

In 2025, the American Statistical Association honored Shaida with the Harry V. Roberts Statistical Advocate of the Year Award, recognizing her enduring contributions to the field.

Lisa Cornish

Director, Data Knowhow

Lisa Cornish is a data journalist, scientist, analyst, communication, design, visualisation expert and geospatial analyst with expertise in big and open data. She is the director of Data Knowhow, an Australian based business providing data management, visualisation and communication services.

She works with clients to improve communications strategies, highlighting the value of data journalism and interactives to enable end-users to better understand issues, policies and decisions being communicated, and aims to build capability within organisations to achieve these goals through training and knowledge sharing. As a journalist, her work has featured in Devex, News Corp Australia, The Mandarin and SmartCompany, and she was a speaker at the second UN World Data Forum in Dubai presenting on data journalism. Her work has supported organisations to improve their use and communication of data including the World Intellectual Property Organization and various agencies of the Australian government.

She has a masters of applied science in Geomatics from the University of Melbourne and more than 20 years of industry experience.

Dilek Fraisl

Senior Research Scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Managing Director, Citizen Science Global Partnership (CSGP)

Dilek Fraisl is a Senior Research Scholar in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). She leads the Citizen Science Global Partnership as Managing Director and collaborates with major international organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, in advisory and consultancy roles. She contributes to numerous citizen science initiatives addressing marine litter, land use and land cover, as well as other global environmental and socio-economic challenges, funded by the European Commission, UN agencies, and other global donors.

She has several board and expert group memberships with scientific communities, the UN, and other global initiatives, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Resilience Frontiers, the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) Citizen Data Expert Group and Collaborative, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Science Policy Business Forum, UN- Habitat Quality of Life Program, and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), among others.

She holds a doctorate degree in sustainability transitions, with research interests spanning sustainable development, data and statistics, earth observation, and citizen science as theory, practice, and evidence-base for policy development. She has worked in the areas of data governance and data management, including research on citizen science data quality.

Haishan Fu

Director, Development Data Group (DECDG),

Chief Statistician, World Bank Group (WBG)

Haishan Fu is World Bank Group’s Chief Statistician and Director of the Development Data Group. In this dual role, she leads and coordinates the Bank’s development data agenda, including oversight of cutting-edge global data public goods, pioneering public-private partnerships, globally trusted technical advisory services, and innovative financing solutions, including the World Bank-hosted Global Data Facility.

A lifelong advocate for unlocking the power of data to improve lives, she has been at the forefront of the global data discourse as a prominent thought leader, expert advisor, and academic and policy researcher for over three decades.

Prior to joining the Bank, she led the regional statistical development programs in Asia and the Pacific at United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and was the first chief of statistics of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report. She holds a doctorate degree in demography from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Peking University.

Mustafa Y.M. Khawaja

Statistics, Information Society and Technology Cluster,
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)

Mustafa Khawaja is currently the Head of the Statistical Policies and Coordination Unit at ESCWA’s Statistics, Information Society and Technology Cluster. With extensive experience in official statistics, he leads efforts to improve SDG data production, coordination, and dissemination, focusing on vulnerable populations with special focus on the gender and disability statistics. Previously, he directed the Social Statistics Department and supervised the Statistical Monitoring Directorate at the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, modernizing national SDG monitoring systems. He manages demographic and social data programs, develops methodologies aligned with international standards, supports capacity-building, and contributes to regional statistical policies and publications.

Mohamed Ali Ismail

Professor, Statistics Department, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Egypt

Mohamed Ali Ismail is a Professor of Statistics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. His research interests focus on the construction of composite indicators, time series and dynamic modeling, with particular emphasis on bayesian methodology, multiple seasonality, applied econometrics, and applications of statistics in the social sciences.

He has published over 100 papers and technical reports in these areas and has presented his work at numerous international scientific conferences. He has also organized specialized sessions, tutorials, and short courses. Beyond academia, he has served as a consultant to national institutions, including the Information and Decision Support Center of the Egyptian Cabinet and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute (ISI). Alongside his scholarly contributions, he has held several leadership roles, most notably as Head of the Statistics Department at Cairo University and as Dean of the Higher Institute of Administrative Sciences – 6th of October. He earned his doctorate degree in statistics from the University of Wales.

Priscilla Idele

Chief, Data and Analytics Branch, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Priscilla Idele is the Chief of the Data and Analytics Branch at UNFPA, leading global strategies to strengthen population data systems, drive evidence-based policy, and advance gender equality. With over 30 years in international development, she has held senior UN roles, including Principal Adviser in the Secretary-General’s Office, where she re-established the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, and Global Chief of Data and Analytics and Deputy Director of Research at UNICEF. She has shaped transformative global initiatives—from the Power of Data High Impact Initiative to the Transforming Education Summit—and forged strategic partnerships within the UN, with governments, donors, and the private sector. A recognized authority on child, adolescent, and women’s health and development, she is widely published, award-winning, and recipient of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Prize for excellence in research on children affected by HIV/AIDS. She holds a doctorate degree in social statistics from the University of Southampton.

Johannes Jütting

Executive Head, Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21)

Johannes Jütting is the Executive Head of PARIS21 (Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century), hosted at the OECD, where he directs global efforts to strengthen national statistical systems, advance the integration of reliable data into decision-making processes, and advocate for the role of countries as key actors in the global development agenda. Under his leadership, PARIS21 has played a central role in shaping international debates on statistical capacity development, data innovation, and financing for development data.

He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Passau and has published widely on issues related to statistics, development, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining PARIS21, he led teams on poverty reduction and social protection at the OECD Development Centre and worked at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) in Bonn.

He holds a doctorate in development and agricultural economics from Humboldt University of Berlin. He serves on a number of international boards and committees, including since its inception at the UN World Data Forum Programme Committee.

Charles Lau

Deputy Global Research Director, Gallup, Inc.

Charles Lau is the deputy global research director at Gallup, Inc. He is a survey methodologist with 15 years of experience in survey design and implementation globally. He specializes in developing questionnaires, studying emerging modes of data collection, and measuring quality in low- and middle-income country surveys. He has led numerous large-scale face-to-face, phone, and web survey projects for UN agencies, academic clients, NGOs, development implementers, and the private sector.

He has published over 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Survey Research Methods and the International Journal of Public Opinion Research on questionnaire design, mode effects, sampling, and other topics about survey research in low- and middle-income countries. He currently serves on the Steering Committee and is the Lead Technical Editor for the United Nations Handbook of Surveys on Households and Individuals. On the Steering Committee, he collaborates with UN agencies, national statistical offices, and academics to set strategic direction and produce the Handbook. As the Lead Technical Editor, he oversees technical standards and best practices for the Handbook.

Prior to Gallup, he served as the Chief Research Officer at GeoPoll and a Program Director and Survey Methodologist at RTI International. He holds a doctorate degree in sociology and master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brown University.

Elizabeth Lockwood

Representative at the United Nations, CBM Global Disability Inclusion

Elizabeth Lockwood is CBM Global’s representative at the United Nations where she develops advocacy strategies to raise awareness, strengthen capacity, and lobby for the rights of persons with disabilities in partnership with organizations of persons with disabilities. Her areas of focus include accessibility, data on persons with disabilities, and financing for development. She co-leads the UN Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities’ data advocacy efforts. She was raised by Dutch and American parents and has lived and worked in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and on the Navajo Nation. She holds a doctorate degree in disability studies and a master’s degree in public policy, signs in multiple sign languages and International Sign, and speaks English and Spanish.

Munthir M. Alansari

Principal Advisor, Tourism Statistics, Ministry of Tourism

Munthir Alansari specializes in developing and implementing data governance strategies to support informed decision-making with extensive experience in public policy and consulting. He provides advisory services on global indicators, contributing as a visionary leader and strategist within the tourism sector. He is a member of the Panel of Tourism Experts on Measuring Sustainable Tourism at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and serves as Principal Consultant for the Ministries of Tourism, Culture, and General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia.

He has achieved exceptional recognition for advancing sustainable development and national initiatives, aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 framework. He is an active member of the Statistical Data Governance Framework to Achieve Data Interoperability (DAFI) by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Additionally, he represents Saudi Arabia as a co-chair of the Statistical Committee at UNWTO and is a member of the Expert Group for Measuring Sustainable Tourism.

He holds doctorate degree in business administration, he completed the leadership development program at Duke University and he holds certifications in strategic planning from George Washington University and knowledge management from the KM Institute.

Vibeke Oestreich Nielsen

Senior advisor on data and statistics, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)

Vibeke Oestreich Nielsen has 20 years of experience working with capacity development in data and statistics. She currently manages the statistics portfolio in Norad and co-leads the follow up work on the Financing for Development Sevilla Platform for Action (FfD4) and the Future of Data: Strengthening Systems for Sustainable Financing. Previously, she has worked in various roles at Statistics Norway, the UN Statistics Division and for the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Norcap roster. She has led numerous capacity development and statistical training programs, including Data for Now, the Collaborative on Administrative data and the Global Network of Institutions for Statistical Training. For several years, she was a Steering Committee member of the Expert Group on IDP, Refugee and Statelessness Statistics. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Oslo.

Charlie Martial Ngounou

Data, Digital & Technology Senior Expert, AfroLeadership NGO

Vice Chair of Governing Board, International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI)

Charlie Martial Ngounou is the founder and President of the Pan-African civil society organization, AfroLeadership. He is a recognized expert in open governance, open data, digital rights and citizen participation. He is the Vice Chair of the governing board at the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), which supports governments and donors in their effort for transparency and accountability, through the IATI data standard. He is a Vice President at the Agence internationale pour la Formation et la Recherche en Intelligence Artificielle, a global network of data and artificial intelligence (AI) experts working with governments, private sector and academia to promote a responsible use of AI in Africa and globally. He is a Steering Committee Member of the Communauté Afrique Francophone des Données Ouvertes (CAFDO),a board of directors member of People Powered, the representative in Africa of PLACE Foundation and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the African Smart Cities Investment Summit (ASCIS).

As a seasoned international public sector expert, he leads a team of engineers and software developers, for digital transformation projects with governments and local authorities in Africa. He has various professional certifications in open governance, open data, public finance, public contracts, decentralization, local governance, fiscal transparency and public taxation. He holds a diploma in computer science and a master’s degree in management science.

Macdonald George Obudho

Director General, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)

Macdonald George Obudho serves as the Director General of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics where he has dedicated his career to promoting excellence in the development and production of high-quality official statistics in Kenya. With a wealth of experience in top management roles spanning over eighteen years, he has led various technical teams in conducting population and housing censuses, registration and profiling of farmers, and designing and executing numerous sample surveys.

He is a respected authority in the field of statistics, playing a key role in the development and implementation of statistical methods and standards, statistics policies, laws, and production as well as the dissemination and utilization of statistical data. His leadership as Director of Population and Social Statistics was instrumental in overseeing the successful execution of the first digital census during the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of statistics and his innovative approach to data collection, he has been honored with two State Commendation Awards: Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2023 and Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2019. He serves as a Board member of Tourism Research Institute, PARIS21 and Hazina SACCO. He holds a doctorate in applied statistics, a master’s degree in statistics, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science, all from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Linda Peters

Statistics Business Development, Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri)

Linda Peters is director of the Esri Geo Experience Center and Executive program, helping senior leaders from across industries understand the value of location. Esri’s Executive Briefing Program delivers business outcome-driven discussions that empower customers to reach their goal.

She is a cartographer and Geospatial Information System (GIS) Analyst with over thirty years of experience working in the geospatial industry. She has worked for Esri for over twenty years, she has consulted with companies across industries helping them achieve greater efficiencies by leveraging GIS and spatial analysis. She has worked with national statistical offices across the globe, helping them understand how to apply geographic methods and GIS to census and statistical activities. She co-authored the book “GIS and the 2020 Census: Modernizing Official Statistics” and has contributed to other key works such as “Guidelines on the Use of Electronic Data Collection Technologies in Population and Housing Censuses”.

Fabrizio Ruggeri

President, International Statistical Institute (ISI)

Fabrizio Ruggeri is Senior Fellow at the Istituto di Matematica Applicata e Tecnologie Informatiche (IMATI) in Milano of CNR where he had been a researcher from 1988 to May 2023. He was a member until 2024 of the Faculty of the Ph.D. programme in Mathematics at the universities of Milano-Bicocca and Pavia.

He has had various international appointments, including Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology, International Professor Affiliate at Polytechnic Institute (New York University, USA), Chair of Excellence at Universidad Carlos III and ICMAT-CSIC and Faculty of the Ph.D. programme in Statistics at the Universidad de Valparaiso. Has been teaching in Italy, Spain, Algeria, Ghana, USA (Washington and New York), Honduras, Uruguay, Chile, Pakistan, China.

He is the President-Elect of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) for the 2023-2025 term after which he will serve as President from 2025 to 2027. He has been President of ENBIS , ISBA and ISBIS, and ISI Vice President. He is a Fellow of IMS , ASA and ISBA (which also awarded him the first Zellner Medal), and ENBIS Honorary Member. He is past Editor-in-Chief of Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry (2007-24) and currently of Wiley StatsRef, an online encyclopedia. He is the Director of the Applied Bayesian Statistics summer school organised by CNR-IMATI since 2004 and Chair of the series of workshops on Bayesian Inference in Stochastic Processes. He is a member of the Advisory Scientific Committee of the Institute of Statistics of Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He is author of over 200 articles and author/editor of 6 books.

Areef Suleman

IsDB Group Chief Economist, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)

Areef Suleman is the Group Chief Economist at the Islamic Development Bank where he leads a team of experts providing thought leadership on all matters related to economic policy, socio-economic research and statistics. He remains steadfast in his core ambition to drive socio-economic change in developing and least-developed countries. In his current role, he is focused on more strategic issues, nurturing partnerships with other development institutions to drive evidence-based decision-making. He holds leadership roles on multiple boards, committees, and global task forces, where he contributes technical expertise and promotes institutional governance.

Tim Trainor

past President, International Cartographic Association (ICA)

Tim Trainor is a post-retirement consultant focusing on data integration, supporting developing countries, and advancing the effective management of geospatial information. He served as the first Chief Geospatial Scientist for the United States (U.S.) Census Bureau following his role as Chief of the Geography Division.

He has extensive experience in cartographic and geospatial topics that include exploring methodological, technical and substantive issues relating to cartography and the collection, management and integration of geospatial information. He contributed to the development of the UN Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF). While at the U.S. Census Bureau, he supported the International Statistical Program Center in assisting developing countries in taking censuses. He recently led an expert Resource Team for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Data Alliance on behalf of the United Nations in working directly with developing countries in their creation of national geospatial plans that support the SDGs. He currently is a member of the U.S. National Geospatial Advisory Committee for the Federal Geographic Data Committee.

He served as the co-chair for the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) as well as Head of the U.S. Delegation. He is past President of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) and is a current member of the ICA Executive Committee.

Claudia Wells

Managing Director for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Vital Strategies

Claudia Wells leads implementation and operations of the Vital Strategies Civil Registration and Vital Statistics program under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. She oversees a large multi-country effort strengthening the counting of births, deaths and causes of death in 17 low-and middle-income countries around the world, enabling country governments to collect and use their own data for policy and practice. She has over 20 years’ experience working in the field of data for development, research and statistical production. Prior to joining Vital Strategies, she was Director of Data and Evidence and Director of the International Hub at Development Initiatives where she led work to understand and address the critical barriers to data use. Before joining the data for development sector, she was Head of Sustainable Development Goals and environmental statistics at the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics where she was responsible for developing new data and analysis for a wide range of users, from informing the everyday decisions of the public, to working across government providing robust evidence for policymakers.