Joel Gurin

Joel Gurin is a leading international expert on open data –freely accessible public data that can drive entrepreneurship, business growth, scientific innovation, and programs for the public good. He is President and Founder of the Center for Open Data Enterprise, a new Washington-based nonprofit that promotes the use of open data for social and economic impact. His book Open Data Now (McGraw-Hill), written for a general audience, has helped define this emerging field.

Before launching the Center in January 2015 he was Senior Advisor at the Governance Lab (GovLab) at New York University, a multidisciplinary program to use technology to improve the way we govern. Joel conceptualized and led the development team for the GovLab’s Open Data 500 project, the first comprehensive study of companies that use open government data as a key business resource. He and his team then developed the Open Data Roundtables, which bring together federal agencies with their data customers to help make government data more relevant, accessible, and actionable. The Center for Open Data Enterprise now leads international programs to assess the use of open data and convene key stakeholders. Joel has been a featured speaker at open data conferences in London, Mexico City, Shanghai, Taipei, and cities across the U.S.

Joel Gurin’s background combines government, nonprofit leadership, journalism, and consumer issues. He served as Chair of the White House Task Force on Smart Disclosure, which studied how open government data can improve consumer markets, and as Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. He was previously Editorial Director and then Executive Vice President of Consumer Reports, where he directed the launch and development of ConsumerReports.org, the world’s largest paid-subscription information-based website.