Anne L. Washington

Anne L. Washington is an Assistant Professor of Data Policy at NYU. She applies her expertise in digital government to emerging data governance issues in organizations with a public mission. As a computer scientist trained in organizational ethnography, she unites inductive qualitative research methods with technology tools. She investigates the impact of information policy, business process, and organizational structures on the creation of digital records. At the broadest level, her multi-disciplinary work considers the impact of technology on society through the lens of digital record keeping. The National Science Foundation has funded her research multiple times including a five-year NSF CAREER grant on open government data. Her current interests include the development of professional norms for data scientists through socialization and management strategy.

She holds an undergraduate degree in computer science from Brown University, a graduate degree in Library & Information Science from Rutgers University, and a doctorate in Information Systems and Technology Management from The George Washington University. She developed her expertise on government data working at the Congressional Research Service within the Library of Congress. Before completing her PhD, she had extensive work experience in the private sector including the Claris Software division of Apple Computers and Barclays Global Investors. Previously, she was at the George Mason University’s School of Public Policy in Arlington, VA, where she served as one of the core faculty in the Organization Development and Knowledge Management Program. She was selected as a fellow at the Data & Society Research Institute of New York and the Peter Pribilla Foundation of Munich and Leipzig Germany. She also served as an invited expert to the W3C E-Government Interest Group and the W3C Government Linked Data Working Group. Her current appointment is in the Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities department in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University.