Shaida Badiee
Managing Director

Shaida oversees the work of ODW from planning and strategizing to fund-raising and delivery of products. An active speaker and champion on many development data topics, she is a Senior Advisor to Data2X focused on gender data, co-chairs the SDSN TReNDS group, is part of the Technical Advisory Group for GPSDD, is a member of the PARIS21 board, and a number of other boards. Before co-founding ODW in 2013, she worked at the World Bank for 36 years and was the Director of the Development Data Group for many years. She holds an MS degree in Engineering, specialized in information management.

Francesca Perucci
Director of Policy and Partnerships

Francesca directs the policy and partnerships work of ODW. An expert in the field of development data and global data initiatives, she leads ODW’s work to scale up data and statistical capacity, technical services, and strategic partnerships. She brings many decades of experience at the United Nations, most recently as Assistant Director of the UN Statistics Division. A true trailblazer in the use of data and statistics to inform policy, monitor progress, and influence decision-making, she led the development of the Sustainable Development Goals indicators that now are the basis of SDG data work around the world.

Eric Swanson
Director of Research

Eric is a co-founder of Open Data Watch. He supervises the research and analytical work of ODW. He was previously program manager and senior adviser in the World Bank’s Development Data Group with responsibilities including the World Development Indicators. He holds a PhD in economics. He has previously worked on topics of measuring educational achievement, economic modeling and forecasting, and jury selection.

Mandy McCleary
Program Manager

Mandy manages program delivery at ODW, overseeing the achievement of strategic organizational goals, coordinating efforts between projects, and advancing new and innovative programs. Just prior to ODW, Mandy was the Senior Project and Data Manager on a USAID research project where she created clear processes and standards, assured quality deliverables, and worked with stakeholders to implement evidence-based programs and policies. She has a Master of Science in Global Health Economics and Applied Statistics from Brandeis University.

Deirdre Appel
Communication and Advocacy Manager

Deirdre manages communications activities at ODW. This work focuses on promoting public awareness of and access to data and reports on key sustainable development themes, increasing the visibility of ODW initiatives and research, and strengthening communications cooperation with ODW partners through blogs, social media, and events. Deirdre holds a Master of Global Policy Studies with a specialization in International Development from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Jamison Henninger
Open Data Manager

Jamison is responsible for managing a number of ODW’s research projects, including the Open Data Inventory (ODIN), as well as facilitating workshops for government agencies on topics such as open data and data accessibility. Prior to ODW, he worked on the Open Budget Initiative at the International Budget Partnership. He holds a Masters of Global Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Lorenz Noe
Research Manager

Lorenz is responsible for research on a wide range of analytical projects at ODW. He specializes in food security, extreme poverty, the global middle class, and development financing. Prior to working at ODW, he served as a Senior Research Analyst at the Brookings Institution for four years where he managed the Ending Rural Hunger project. Lorenz holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Amelia Pittman
Data Insights and Design Manager

Amelia manages work that transforms complex data into actionable insights. She leads the development of visual publications, online platforms, and other resources. Prior to working at ODW, she conducted research for USAID, Innovations for Peace and Development, and AngelouEconomics. She holds a Master of Global Policy Studies with a specialization in International Development from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Tawheeda Wahabzada
Senior Data and Policy Specialist

Tawheeda is the research manager for the Bridging the Gap regional projects, where she developed a foundational knowledge and expertise on gender data gaps, methodologies of SDG indicators, and ways to incorporate official statistics into existing national gender strategies and policies. She is also the lead reviewer of assessments for the Open Data Inventory, and she provides support on country engagement and on other gender data-related projects. Tawheeda holds a Master of Global Policy Studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin.

Raquel Santos Fontes
Policy and Advocacy Consultant

Raquel works on policy, research, and advocacy projects at ODW, including the Commit to Data initiative and the Intersectionality in Development Data workstream. Her work is grounded in mixed-methods research, policy analysis, data visualization, and strategic communications. At ODW, she also supports stakeholder engagement efforts and advocacy campaigns. Raquel holds a Master of Global Policy Studies with a specialization in International Development and Gender from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Meriem Ait Ouyahia
Gender Data Network Coordinator

Meriem coordinates the gender data network at Open Data Watch. She has worked in the field of statistical development for many years, first with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and most recently with PARIS21. Her experience also includes a number of years working with the Government of Canada in the field of sustainable development. Meriem holds a master’s degree in econometrics from the University of Montréal.

Jaysen Ensor
Research Consultant

Jay provides support across a variety of projects and programs at ODW such as the Open Climate Data Template and Civil Registration Vital Statistics research. He has also worked on ODIN and the Gender Data Compass. Jay’s research interests include gender-focused development, environmental sustainability, disability access in development, and the Pacific Islands. He holds his Master’s degree in International Development from the School of International Service at American University.

Reza Farivari
Director of Administration

Reza manages ODW’s administration activities including facilities and contracts. He headed Information Services and Systems at World Bank’s Development Data Group for 10 years. There he oversaw development of the largest set of systems products for Open Data and related communications. He has developed systems for managing and disseminating statistical information for over 35 years. Before World Bank, he operated the Computer Center at the School of Engineering at George Washington University.

Martin Getzendanner
Media & Technology Advisor

Martin coordinates technology at ODW. He has worked in several international agencies, as a business information solutions manager at World Bank, climate change information manager at UNEP, chief of information for the Western Pacific Region of WHO, and chief of information resource management at UNICEF Europe. Prior to that, he was NBC News correspondent in Geneva and wrote editorials on Asia for LA Times and CS Monitor. He has degrees in Asian Studies from Harvard, Political Science from Stanford, and International Development from IHEID.

June Demafeliz
Budget Officer

June takes care of budget management work and interactions with the accountant and the group managing ODW’s payroll. Her background includes work at a CPA firm and a decade in the European Department of the IMF, handling economic data analysis and management, budget projections, and production of reports for country lending assessments, as well as related web design. She has a master’s degree in business administration.

Chandrika Kaul
Consultant

Chandrika helps with the ODIN work program. She has 20+ years of experience compiling and analyzing data and statistics for search engines such as Microsoft and Google. She has been a geography and statistics editor for leading reference publishers and has authored three statistical handbooks and several geography reference books. As a Research Manager at Wolfram|Alpha, she contributed to the expansion and improvement of its knowledge base. She holds a PhD in economic geography.