Welcome to M-Lab’s New Director: Katherine Townsend

Measurement Lab is pleased to announce the addition of Katherine Townsend to our team as our new Director.

New Director

After an intensive search throughout the summer of 2022 which included many highly qualified candidates, we are pleased to announce Katherine Townsend as our Director. Katherine will use her background in open data, technology in the public interest, and policy to define and implement the strategic vision for M-Lab’s impact on the future of the Internet. Our former Director Lai Yi Ohlsen, who joined the project in 2019, will continue to contribute in her new role as our Lead Data Scientist.

We are so excited to have Katherine on board and we can’t wait for you to meet her. Thank you also to everyone who showed interest in working with M-Lab and for taking the time to apply. We hope to work with you in the future.

About Katherine Townsend

Katherine Townsend is a passionate advocate for information equity and has devoted her career to organization transparency, collaboration across global partners, and improving technical capacity in the social sector. As Director of Measurement Lab she will be leading efforts to convene a longstanding multistakeholder global community working toward a healthier, more open Internet for all. She currently serves on the boards of Open Data Charter to open up data for policy change and Connect Humanity investing in community-driven internet connectivity, and serves as a Special Advisor to World Wide Web Foundation and Principal at Open Data Collaboratives. Katherine has worked to advise FCDO on data-driven delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability on civic tech, and with governments of Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and UAE on open government and open data. She previously served as COO of data.org and at the U.S. Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) standing up USAID’s first and sustained open data policy. Kat can often be found riding her bike around Brooklyn.