Dr. Alondra
Nelson

Dr. Alondra Nelson is a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. A scholar of science, technology, medicine, and social inequality, Dr. Nelson is the Harold F. Linder professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. From 2021 until 2023, she was deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy director for science and society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. For eight months of that time, she performed the duties of the director, becoming the first African American and the first woman of color to lead U.S. science policy. She was the first Black woman to serve as president and CEO of the Social Science Research Council, as well as dean of Social Science at Columbia University. She is also the author of four books, which have examined the intersections of science technology, rights, and race. Dr. Nelson is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego and holds a PhD from New York University.