The National Academies

The National Academies have a long history of recommending measurement frameworks and data for a wide range of complex issues. The Academies have been involved in planning, research, advisory and development activities in support of a key national indicator system since the effort was first proposed in 2002.

The National Academy of Sciences was born in the travail of the Civil War. The Act of Incorporation, signed by President Lincoln on March 3, 1863, established service to the nation as its dominant purpose. The act also named 50 charter members.

Over the years, the National Academy of Sciences has broadened its services to the government. During World War I it became apparent that the limited membership -- then numbering only about 150 -- could not keep up with the volume of requests for advice regarding military preparedness. In 1916 the Academy established the National Research Council at the request of President Wilson to recruit specialists from the larger scientific and technological communities to participate in that work.

Recognizing the value of scientific advice to the nation in times of peace as well as war, Wilson issued an executive order at the close of World War I asking the Academy to create the National Research Council. Subsequent executive orders, by President Eisenhower in 1956 and President Bush in 1993, have affirmed the importance of the National Research Council and further broadened its charter.

Under the authority of its charter, the National Academy of Sciences established the National Academy of Engineering in 1964 and the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Much like the National Academy of Sciences, each of these organizations consists of members elected by peers in recognition of distinguished achievement in their respective fields. The National Academy of Sciences includes about 1,800 members, the National Academy of Engineering about 1,900, and the Institute of Medicine about 1,200. All three organizations also elect foreign associates.

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State of the USA Advisory Committees

The State of the USA has established advisory groups on a broad set of issues including content design, data publishing, information technology, human computer interaction, indicator best practices and quality assurance. The organization's advisers also act as an external filter to ensure an approach that remains current as well as non-partisan.

National Advisory Group

Ron Blackwell, Chief Economist of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Unions (AFL-CIO) and professor in economics, politics, and philosophy.

Donald J. Borut, Executive Director of the National League of Cities and expert in municipal government and organizational leadership in the public interest sector.

William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at Harvard University and an ecologist focused on environment, development, security, and science and technology in international affairs.

Michael X. Delli Carpini, Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, and expert on political communications, public opinion, and political socialization.

William J. (Denny) Dennis, Jr., senior research fellow at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Foundation in Washington, D.C., and an expert is small business and public policy.

Charlotte Kahn, Director, Boston Indicators Project, and Editorial Committee member.

Suellen Terrill Keiner, environmental and civil rights attorney, particularly in economy and the environment.

Gail Leftwich Kitch, Executive Director of By the People, an initiative of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions (M/LP) which uses public television to encourage and support informed non-contentious citizen dialogue around policy issues.

Marvin (Marv) J. Langston, Principal, Langston Associates, and former Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense.

Sara Melendez, former adjunct professor of nonprofit management in the School of Public Policy and Public Administration of George Washington University and former CEO of Independent Sector, a coalition of more than 700 foundations, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Jane L. Ross, Director of the Center for Economic, Governance and International Studies, National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences and former Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Government Observer for the National Advisory Group

Katherine K. Wallman, Chief Statistician at the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Executive Office of the President.

Strategic and Technical Advisory Group

William F. Allman, Vice President, E-Media for Bonniercorp.com and thought leader in enterprise and consumer information dissemination and visualization.

Troy Anderson, President & CEO at KnowledgePlex, Inc., former Managing Director of Knowledge Management and Interactive Applications at the Fannie Mae Foundation with expertise in data distribution on the Web, and housing and economic development.

Jerilyn Asher is an expert in health care business, policy and strategy, corporate development, capital campaigns, collaborations and strategic partnerships with government agencies, non-government agencies and mutli-sector corporations.

Peter Blair, Executive Director of the Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the National Research Council.

Marjory Blumenthal, Associate Provost, Academic, Georgetown University, and author on Internet trends, impact, and policy.

Norman Bradburn, is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and former vice president and director of research at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. He is a leading researcher on survey methodology.

George Brucia, Experienced enterprise technologist with a long history of fielding well-engineered, user-focused systems of high quality, at large scale at both public and private enterprises.

Hank Conrad, Managing Partner of CounterPoint Corporation and expert in IT business alignment, systems integration, program management, outsource management, process improvement, relationship management, change management, and new technology introduction.

Emerson Elliott, is an expert in federal education programs and policies with nearly 40 years in the U.S. Departments of Education and Health, Education and Welfare, and in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

David Epstein, Chief Operating Officer, MAK. A senior technology executive with leadership experience at IBM, the US military, global research, and national health-related information technology organizations on bio-surveillance, adverse drug and quality of care events, intelligent building and city infrastructure, advanced water management, and market analysis.

Larry Filetti, Managing Partner, 716 Group, Inc. and proven enterprise technology and strategy executive known for enterprise architecture, IT transformation, technology introduction and delivering systems of high usability, including business intelligence and enterprise IT to organizations like Argonne National Labs, First National Bank of Chicago, and McDonald's.

Jamie Gaughran-Perez, Partner at Threespot. Creator of user-focused web-delivered content and systems including delivery of highly scalable solutions to clients such as Brookings, the NFL, national TV programs, and the US Congress.

Daniel S. Gaylin, Executive Vice President for Health Research at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC)

Scott Gilkeson, Independent Consultant and expert in human computer interaction and information visualization strategies

Bob Gourley, Chief Technology Officer, Crucial Point LLC; Editor, CTOVision.com and former CTO for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Mike Harper, President, Pathway for Success, LLC, a consulting company focused on executive and strategy services with expertise on identity and access management, and online marketing.

Michael Jensen, Director of Web Communications for The National Academies Press, and expert on electronic publishing.

Charlotte Kahn, Director, Boston Indicators Project and President, the Community Indicators Consortium. An expert and innovator in defining, measuring and communicating about societal progress through key indicator systems.

Marvin (Marv) F. Langston, Principal, Langston Associates, and former Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense.

Carolyn Lukensmeyer, is a leader of deliberative democracy, a public servant and social entrepreneur. In 1995, she founded AmericaSpeaks, a non-partisan non-profit organization that strengthens citizen voice in decision making. She was Chief of Staff to Governor Celeste of Ohio from 1986 to 1991 and a consultant to the White House Chief of Staff for nine months during the Clinton years.

Howard Parnell, is an experienced editor and newsroom manager with a history of successfully running large and complex online news and information operations; former Editor of Washingtonpost.com.

Ron Ponder, Independent executive consultant; former EVP and CIO Wellpoint, CIO at Federal Express, Sprint, AT&T known for large scale operational implementation and world class business performance.

Ben Shneiderman, Professor of Computer Science and founding Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland and expert in creativity and cognition, information visualization, and information technology and medical records. Member of the National Academy of Engineering.

John W. Trustman, an expert in the design, development, and operation of retail to enterprise-scale interactive applications in health care, insurance, financial services and retail industries.

Bill Vass, IT executive and former CIO of the Office of Secretary of Defense, former CIO of Sun Microsystems, former President of Sun Federal. Known for designing and building highly scalable, fast, interoperable user-focused systems.

Zia Zaman, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, FAST, and an expert in strategic market development.