Natalie Evans Harris

Natalie Evans Harris is an entrepreneur and data advocate. Over the course of her career, Natalie has been working towards advancing the public sector’s use of data, responsible data use, and ethical algorithms meant to benefit people. She spent 16 years at the National Security Agency leading an analytics development center, and 18 months with the Obama administration as Senior Policy Advisor to the US Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, Natalie is the co-founder and Head of Strategic Initiatives of BrightHive, a data trust platform that delivers data collection, governance, and integration products to social services providers, allowing for better access to and usability of social sector data.

In 2022, Natalie became the executive director of the Black Wealth Data Center (BWDC), a platform and comprehensive repository that addresses Black wealth data and its inaccessibility. As conversations continue at organizations and amongst leaders about how to effectively and strategically invest in Black communities, access to pertinent data about wealth equity in the U.S. is critical — yet, this data is often hidden behind paywalls, found in numerous disjointed sources, incomplete, or missing. With the BWDC, Natalie leads the organization’s efforts to centralize information and build a network of leaders, organizations, and scholars who are empowered to raise the standard on the collection, quality, and accessibility of reliable racial wealth equity data, helping decision makers adequately address harm caused by decades of racism and disinvestment.