Building Connections to Bridge Divides and Accelerate Decision Making

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Coleridge hosted its 6th Annual National Conference in Arlington, VA, from March 24-27. The event convened nearly 250 data experts, policymakers and thought leaders from 39 states and multiple Federal agencies to explore the transformative power of administrative data in shaping public policy. This year’s theme Data Beyond Borders focused on the importance of collaborating across agencies, institutions, and sectors to build an interconnected infrastructure that makes data more actionable and impactful.

“The theme of this year’s conference, Data Beyond Borders, captures something essential: data is at the center of everything, including AI,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, President and CEO of Coleridge. “Yet, that data must be connected to result in true collaboration and impact. Policy decisions drawn from linked datasets are clearer and more powerful when borders are crossed, both literal and figurative.”

In the opening plenary, moderated by Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s, panelists David Wilcox (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Director of US economic research at Bloomberg Economics), Cami Feek (Commissioner for the Employment Security Department (ESD) in Washington State), and Chris Kurz (Assistant Director Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) shared insights on the current state of statistics, data, and AI in the U.S.

Rob Santos, the 26th Director of the U.S Census Bureau, moderated the subsequent plenary with Robert McGough (Chief Data Officer for the state of Arkansas), Erica Groshen (the 14th Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), and Dominique Duval-Diop (Deputy Chief Data Officer and Acting Chief Data Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce). The panel of Federal and state data luminaries shared practical strategies for strengthening the evidence ecosystem to move toward impact.

The conference brought together a wide-reaching community, with rising participation from academic institutions, nonprofit partners, and local education agencies, alongside returning partners from state and Federal government. Together, the group built new connections and networks to strengthen learning and enable meaningful policy impact.

The conference underscored the importance of cross-organizational collaboration and advanced data integration strategies in driving meaningful impact. Discussions included:

The State of Statistics, Data, and AI in the United States
Infrastructure, Governance, and Tools Turn Data into Public Value
Building AI-Ready Data and Secure Enclaves
Administrative Data for Agile Evidence Building
Designing Effective Education-to-Workforce Data Systems

View the full Conference agenda

The Data Champion of the Year Award for 2026 was presented to the state of New Jersey and accepted by Stephanie Walsh, Assistant Director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and Lesley Hirsch, Assistant Commissioner for Research & Information at the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Each year, the Award recognizes exceptional leadership in advancing data-driven innovation in the public sector.

“It’s an honor to receive this recognition from Coleridge. The key to New Jersey’s achievement is our partnership model—among the agencies who collaborate to govern the New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS) and with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers,” said Hirsch. “We are grateful to Coleridge for the opportunities to network, collaborate, and learn and are inspired by the work of the other states and their partners. Finally, we hope our experience offers proof that our day-to-day efforts can have a real impact on the people we all serve.”

About Coleridge

Coleridge is a nonprofit organization working with governments to ensure that data are more effectively used for public decision-making. Coleridge provides agencies with the opportunity to enhance their data literacy and collaborate within and across states to develop new technologies through the secure access and sharing of confidential microdata. Coleridge provides secure data enclave services to a diverse range of clients, including state government agencies, several federal agencies, and local governments, through the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). The ADRF is a FedRAMP-authorized cloud-based platform that enables government agencies to link their longitudinal data with other states and agencies. To learn more, visit www.coleridge .us

Media contact: Nick Obourn, [email protected]

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