Alondra Nelson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alondra Nelson
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Official portrait, 2022
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| Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy | |
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Acting
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| In office February 18, 2022 – October 3, 2022 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Eric Lander |
| Succeeded by | Arati Prabhakar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 22, 1968 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, San Diego (BA) New York University (MPhil, PhD) |
Alondra Nelson (born April 22, 1968) is an American expert in many fields. She is a professor, a policy advisor, and a writer. She works at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Since March 2023, she has been a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In October 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration chose her to join the UN High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. This group helps the United Nations with new technology.
From 2021 to 2023, Nelson worked for President Joe Biden. She was a top leader in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She even led the OSTP for several months in 2022. She was the first African American woman to lead this important science office. Before working for President Biden, she was the president of the Social Science Research Council. This is a group that supports research in social sciences. Nelson also taught sociology at Columbia University and Yale University.
Nelson writes and speaks a lot about how science, technology, medicine, and fairness connect. She has written many articles and four books. One of her most famous books is The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation after the Genome.
Contents
Early life and education
Alondra Nelson was born in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1968. She grew up in San Diego, California. Her father was in the U.S. Navy, and her mother worked for the U.S. Army. She is the oldest of four children.
In 1994, Nelson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in anthropology from the University of California, San Diego. She graduated with high honors. Later, in 2003, she earned her Ph.D. in American studies from New York University.
Career highlights
Nelson has had a long and impressive career in academics and public service. She has worked at top universities and advised leaders.
Teaching and leadership at universities
From 2003 to 2009, Nelson was a professor at Yale University. She taught African American studies and sociology. She was the first African American woman to join the Sociology Department at Yale.
In 2009, she moved to Columbia University. There, she became the first African American woman to earn tenure in the Sociology Department. At Columbia, she led important research centers. She also became the first Dean of Social Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. As dean, she helped start many new programs. These programs focused on topics like racial fairness and civil rights. In 2019, she joined the Institute for Advanced Study. This famous research center once had scientists like Albert Einstein.
Leading the Social Science Research Council
In 2017, Nelson was chosen to be the president and CEO of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). This organization is almost 100 years old. She was the first African American person and the first person of color to lead the SSRC. During her time there, she started many new programs. These programs looked at new media, technology, and democracy. She also launched a big project called the Social Data Initiative. This project aimed to help researchers study how platforms like Facebook affect society. She also created a platform to research misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public service and White House role
In January 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Alondra Nelson to a key role. She became the deputy director for science and society in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This office advises the President on science and technology. People praised her appointment, saying she would bring fairness to science and technology policies.
From February to October 2022, Nelson served as the acting director of OSTP. She was the first Black person and first woman of color to lead this office. In this role, she helped advance many important goals. These included clean energy, a "Bill of Rights" for automated technologies, and a plan for fairness in science education. She also worked on policies to make sure the U.S. stays a leader in science. She helped create the "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights." This plan outlines how artificial intelligence should be used fairly and safely.
After leaving the White House in February 2023, Nelson continued her work. In October 2023, she was appointed to the UN High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. This group advises the United Nations on how to use AI responsibly. In October 2024, President Biden appointed her to the National Science Board. This board helps guide the National Science Foundation. However, she resigned in May 2025 due to concerns about political interference.
Writing and research
Nelson studies and writes about how science, technology, medicine, and fairness are connected. She focuses on how new discoveries affect different groups of people.
Early writings
In the late 1990s, Nelson helped start a new field of study: race and technology. In 2001, she co-edited a book called Technicolor: Race, Technology and Everyday Life. This was one of the first books to look at how race and technology interact in daily life.
Nelson also founded an online community about Afrofuturism in 1998. Afrofuturism is a way of looking at the future through the eyes of Black people. It often explores themes of being an outsider and hoping for a better future. Nelson has written about how discussions of the "digital divide" can sometimes miss important points. She argues that simply giving people access to technology doesn't solve all problems. She believes that race is often seen as a problem in technology discussions.
Recent books
Nelson's 2011 book, Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination, received many awards. It explored how the Black Panther Party worked to improve health care for their communities.
In 2016, she published The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome. This book looks at how genetic ancestry tests are used in Black communities. It explores how these tests can help people connect with their past and ancestral homelands. The book was called a "landmark book" and was a finalist for a major nonfiction award.
Other writings
Nelson's articles and comments have appeared in many well-known newspapers and magazines. These include The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian.
Awards and honors
Alondra Nelson has received many awards and honors for her work:
- Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, San Diego, 1994
- Poorvu Family Award for Interdisciplinary Teaching Excellence, Yale University, 2006
- Mirra Komarovsky Book Award for Body and Soul, 2012
- American Sociological Association Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award for Body and Soul, 2012
- A Favorite Book of 2016, The Wall Street Journal for The Social Life of DNA, 2016
- Elected to Membership, Sociological Research Association, 2017
- Elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2018
- Top 35 Women in Higher Education, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 2020
- Elected to Membership, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2020
- Elected to Membership, American Philosophical Society, 2020
- Elected to Membership, National Academy of Medicine, 2020
- Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, The City College of New York, 2021
- Elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2021
- 2022 Tech Titan, Washingtonian Magazine
- Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Rutgers University, 2022
- Nature's 10 People Who Shaped Science in 2022
- Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa, Northeastern University, 2023
- Champion of Freedom Award, Electronic Privacy Information Center, 2023
- Sage-CASBS Award, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 2023
- Inaugural Friedrich Schiedel Prize for Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, 2023
- 2023 Tech Titan, Washingtonian Magazine
- Time 100 Most Influential People in AI, 2023
- Federation of American Scientists Public Service Award, 2023
- 2024 World Leader in AI World Society Award
- Dorothy Irene Height Award/Global Trailblazer Award, New York University, 2024
- Alumni Changemaker Award, University of California at San Diego, 2024
- 2024 Tech Titan, Washingtonian Magazine
- Morals & Machines Award, 2024
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, New York University, 2025
- NAACP - Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, 56th NAACP Image Awards, 2025
- Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Amherst College, 2025
Personal life
Alondra Nelson is married to Garraud Etienne. She has one sister, Andrea, and two brothers, Robert and Anthony.
