Data & Society is thrilled to announce today that Ania Calderon has joined us as our new Managing Director.

Ania has worked at the crux of technology and democracy for over a decade as a leading open government advocate. As Executive Director of the Open Data Charter, she partnered with governments and organizations to make data open and freely available while protecting the rights of people and communities. She has a track record supporting the delivery of purpose-driven and accountable data policies in a range of countries around the world. Ania delivered a key presidential mandate for open data in Mexico as General Director for the National Digital Strategy from 2012-2016.

The Managing Director role was created to champion equitable and accountable leadership in the pursuit of our mission and goals, ensuring robust internal knowledge-sharing as well as substantive project design across teams and programs. Ania joins the institute’s senior team at a time of broad opportunity and reconfiguration. As Managing Director at Data & Society, she will design and lead inclusive strategic planning and oversee our engagement, learning, and impact efforts in a newly remote-first organization.

“Ania brings us deep experience leading the delivery of ambitious plans at an international scale in both government and civil society sectors,” said Data & Society Executive Director Janet Haven. “Her strategic acumen and leadership qualities will strengthen Data & Society’s ability to deliver both original research and targeted engagement.”

Ania will work closely with Haven on all aspects of organizational governance, strategy, and management including our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

“I am thrilled to be joining Data & Society. It is an honor to be part of a forward-thinking team working to shape how we think about and act on the impacts of technology in society,” remarked Ania Calderon. “I look forward to building on the enduring institutional commitments at Data & Society—both as an organization and with our partners—to shift the focus onto the people most impacted by technological change.”

Ania Calderon holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and is a two-time fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center Assembly program for Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence, where she co-founded the AI Blindspot initiative. She was recognized as one of the top 20 of Apolitical’s World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government 2019, is chair of the Board of Directors for Global Integrity, and sits on multiple advisory boards.