Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress announced today that Arkadi Gerney will join the organization as Senior Fellow. Gerney’s work at CAP will focus on crime, gun policy, immigration, data innovation, and data privacy.
“I am thrilled Arkadi will be joining the Center for American Progress as we work to develop new ideas to protect our families and communities from senseless gun violence,” said CAP President Neera Tanden. “His expertise in data collection and innovation paired with his background in gun violence prevention will make him an invaluable asset to our team.”
Gerney served as special adviser and first deputy criminal justice coordinator to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), where he managed Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national coalition that Mayor Bloomberg co-chairs. During his four and a half years in the mayor’s office, Arkadi oversaw the coalition’s growth to more than 600 mayors, led successful campaigns to influence federal legislation, partnered with Wal-Mart to develop a landmark gun-seller code of conduct, and led New York City’s undercover investigation of out-of-state gun shows. Arkadi also managed some of the city’s criminal justice programs, including the launch of a citywide Financial Crimes Task Force and efforts to digitalize the criminal court arraignment process. Additionally, Arkadi helped develop other national coalitions led by Mayor Bloomberg, including the Partnership for a New American Economy and Cities of Service.
Following his work with Mayor Bloomberg, Gerney served as senior director for policy, partnerships, and public affairs at Opower, a fast-growing software company that works with more than 75 utilities in the United States and across the globe to improve the effectiveness of their energy-efficiency portfolios and motivate their customers to save energy. Arkadi led a team focused on regulatory research, government outreach, and partnerships on matters including utility regulation, energy efficiency incentives, smart grid data, and environmental legislation. Arkadi also oversaw Opower’s data access and data privacy strategy, including the company’s efforts around the White House “Green Button” standard and the development of Opower’s data privacy code of conduct.
Gerney received his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He is a native New Yorker who now lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children.
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