Program Director, Public Tech Leadership Collaborative

Charley Johnson

Charley Johnson examines how vulnerabilities in sociotechnical systems are exploited to capture public discourse, fracture democratic institutions, and what a resilient societal response might look like.

Charley Johnson leads the Public Tech Leadership Collaborative at Data & Society. Previously, he led the organization’s Disinformation Action Lab, which was awarded the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public inaugural ‘Award for Excellence’ for its work on the 2020 Census. Once upon a time, Charley co-founded and ultimately led the Center for Digital Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He’s an adjunct professor at George Washington University, a graduate of the University of Washington (Go Huskies!) and the Harvard Kennedy School, and he founded Untangled, a newsletter and podcast on technology, people, and power. Most importantly, he’s an obnoxiously proud uncle.