Michael Lenczner and Jesse Bourns, Ajah and Powered by Data
Michael Lenczner works in the areas of nonprofit information management and open government. He is a frequent collaborator on academic-community partnerships, and he serves on several nonprofit boards and advisory groups related to technology, democracy, and civil society. He is the CEO of Ajah; director of Powered by Data, a nonprofit initiative on the MakeWay shared platform; and a fellow at the School of Public Policy and Administration of Carleton University.
Jesse Bourns is a senior technologist working on challenges faced by the nonprofit sector. Besides running Ajah, a data and technology consultancy, he is a co-founder and director of Powered by Data, a nonprofit initiative on the MakeWay platform whose mission is to increase access to information and data. Jesse’s background is in technology, start-ups, and the social sector. He specializes in the design of complex, long-term systems and the design of effective governance for those systems.
Tracey Lauriault, Carleton University
Tracey Lauriault is an associate professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication. She is one of the founders of critical data studies and of open data in Canada. She has expertise in data infrastructures, spatial media, and smart cities and is especially interested in the assemblage of social and technological processes such as artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), standards, and technologies such as platforms and the internet of things (IoT) that intermediate data and large social and technological systems and infrastructures and how these structure, automate, and govern so much of daily life. She is particularly fascinated by and applies systems thinking to map out the processes by which deep technological infrastructures and vast machines operate. Her scholarship is critical and engaged, and as a data and technological citizen, she works with the makers, governors, and stakeholders of these data, processes, and infrastructures, not only to better understand them but also to ensure that these do not cause harm, and more so that they are governed in an ethical, accountable, and transparent way so as to balance economic development, social progress, and environmental responsibility.