Our Team
Alex Selkirk
President, Board Member
Alex is currently the CEO of Parlor Labs, an instructional software company he founded in 2011. Alex graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 1999.
Mimi Yin
Board Member, Professor New York University ITP
Mimi has been designing software for over 10 years for both desktop applications and information-intensive web properties. She was the Product Designer on the Chandler Project, an open source personal information manager and sharing service designed for small group collaboration. Mimi is currently a student at NYU Tisch School for the Arts - ITP Program. Her area of focus is interactive environments for performance and applications of generative techniques to choreography. Mimi graduated with a B.A. in Music from Yale University.
Geoff Desa
Board Member, Professor San Francisco State University
Geoff is Assistant Professor of Business at San Francisco State University, and his research focuses on technology social enterprise. With past experience in engineering, entrepreneurship and strategic management, he is excited to be advising a venture that understands both the potential and challenges of harnessing technology to serve the public interest.
Geoff holds a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management, with a minor in Public Affairs, from the University of Washington in 2008, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1999 and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2001.
Becky Pezely
Emeritus, Current: Consultant
I come to the Common Data Project with over twelve years of practice in planning, designing, managing and releasing software products at Microsoft. My work has always been driven by a personal passion for effective visualization, presentation, and communication of information and ideas. My hope for CDP is to see it succeed in providing the tools we need to unlock the powerful stories that lie within data, tools that will enable expanded access to high quality data. Becky holds a B.A. in Computer Science, with a certificate in Women's Studies, from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1997.
Tony Gibbon
Contributor
Tony is currently software architect at Parlor Labs.
Tony graduated from University of Washington with a B.S. in Computer Science.
Grace Meng
Emeritus, Current: Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch
As a lawyer, writer, and card-carrying member of my local public library, access to information has always been important to me. After several years of practicing immigration law, I was excited to shift my focus from fighting the system to building a new system for information and knowledge. I was especially interested in how shared access to accurate information could change our public discourse on controversial issues and help us advance social justice in new and imaginative ways.
Grace graduated with a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003 and a B.A. in English Literature from Yale College in 1999. Grace became a certified privacy professional in 2009.