Announcement

Data & Society Welcomes

Brian J. Chen as Director of Policy

New York, NY (2/22/2023) – Data & Society is pleased to announce that Brian J. Chen has joined the organization as policy director. 

In this role, Chen will increase the visibility of Data & Society’s research with civil society partners, government, and the tech industry, and position sociotechnical research as a tool for policy change. In leading the policy engagement team, Chen will oversee the reach of D&S’s findings and recommendations in policy spaces, with a focus on algorithmic accountability and preventing tech-driven harms. 

With a background in movement lawyering and legislative and regulatory advocacy, Chen has extensive experience engaging with policymakers in federal and state government, including through submitting administrative comments, testifying at hearings, and advising elected officials. Most recently, he was a senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project (NELP) where he led policy campaigns advancing economic justice and worker power, particularly relating to app-based workers. Before joining NELP, Chen worked at the Policing Project at NYU School of Law. There, he was a member of the monitoring team that oversaw the federal consent decree mandating systemic reforms of the Cleveland Division of Police, and he led efforts to ensure that Cleveland residents had input in changing policies around the use of force, community policing, and search and seizure. When Chen was a practicing attorney at NELP, he wrote and submitted amicus briefs on a variety of issues in state and federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. 

“We are very excited to welcome Brian to our policy engagement team,” said Janet Haven, executive director of Data & Society. “His expertise will help strengthen our work at the intersection of advocacy, policy, and socio-economic justice, which is essential to our commitment to advancing public understanding of the social and cultural implications of technology. I am confident he will do great things in this role and am delighted to have him onboard.”

“I am honored to join this incredible group of passionate and thoughtful colleagues at Data & Society,” said Chen. “I have long admired D&S’s leadership in advancing justice-oriented technology governance, and I hope to apply my advocacy experience to help further D&S’s mission. I look forward to continuing the vital work of elevating empirical research with decision-makers to ensure that communities are free from algorithmic and digitalized harms.” 

Chen joins Senior Policy Analyst Serena Oduro on D&S’s Policy Engagement team

Chen lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife and two dogs. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from NYU School of Law.

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