The American Statistical Association’s project to assess and monitor the health of the federal statistical agencies was launched in 2023 to take the pulse of the nation’s statistical system—the backbone of America’s public data infrastructure. This effort focuses on the 13 federal agencies whose primary mission is to produce official statistics, along with the chief statistician’s office in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The project has three key goals: first, to create clear metrics to track how the system’s capabilities, achievements, and challenges evolve over time; second, to proactively monitor the agencies’ health to enable timely responses to emerging needs and vulnerabilities; and, third, to identify opportunities and inform discussions on statistical system priorities. One could think of it as a regular checkup for the agencies whose statistics keep our country running—just as engineers inspect roads, bridges, airports, and rail lines to ensure they are safe, strong, and ready for the future.
Team Members
Steve Pierson, American Statistical Association
Pierson has been director of science policy with the American Statistical Association since 2008. Previously, he was head of government relations for the American Physical Society and associate professor of physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In his current role, he promotes the interests of statisticians and data scientists and to raise their profile in policymaking. Supporting the federal statistical agencies has been a constant and important part of his work.
Claire McKay Bowen, Urban Institute
Bowen is a senior fellow and leads the Data Governance and Privacy Practice Area at the Urban Institute. Her research focuses on developing technical and policy solutions to safely expand access to confidential data for advancing evidence-based policymaking and ensuring everyone is responsibly represented in data. She also has an interest in improving science communication. In 2024, she became an American Statistical Association Fellow “for her significant contributions in the field of statistical data privacy, leadership activities in support of the profession, and commitment to mentoring the next generation of statisticians and data scientists.” Further, she is a member of the ICPSR Governing Council and several other data governance and data privacy committees as well as an adjunct professor at Stonehill College.
Constance (Connie) Citro, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Citro is a senior scholar with the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), previously serving as CNSTAT director from 2004–2017 and senior study director from 1984–2003. She directed pivotal studies, such as Measuring Poverty: A New Approach and Using the American Community Survey: Benefits and Challenges. Before CNSTAT, she held roles at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Data Use and Access Laboratories, Inc., and the U.S. Census Bureau. A fellow of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, Citro’s contributions have been recognized through prestigious awards, such as the Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics in 1997, the Waksberg Award in Survey Methodology in 2014, and selection as the 32nd annual Morris Hansen lecturer in 2024. She holds a PhD in political science from Yale University.
Michelle Crosby-Nagy, ASA Science Policy Fellow
Crosby-Nagy is a policy expert, evaluator, and the managing director of Crosby Consultants and Associates, LLC, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in deliberative processes and evidence-based decision-making. She holds a master’s degree from The George Washington University and has an academic background that includes a decade living in central Europe, where her PhD studies in economic sociology led to extensive publishing on the European Research Area. Her professional service includes working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and serving as staff for the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Higher Education and Workforce and as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow. Currently, she serves as a Councilwoman for the North Beach Town Council and is the ASA's 2025-2026 Science Policy Fellow.
Nancy Potok, NAPx Consulting
Potok has over 30 years of executive experience spanning public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Her career highlights include roles such as chief statistician of the United States, deputy director of the U.S. Census Bureau, and chief operating officer of McManis & Monsalve Associates. Additionally, she has served on the Commission on U.S. Evidence-Based Policymaking and currently chairs and serves on several nonprofit and academic boards dedicated to evidence-based policymaking, mathematics, and technology. Potok is recognized as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the National Academy of Public Administration, and she contributes as a Senior Fellow at The George Washington University. She has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Arthur S. Flemming Award and the Secretary of Commerce’s Gold Medal, and holds a PhD from The George Washington University’s Trachtenburg School of Public Administration and Public Policy.
Zachary Seeskin, NORC
Seeskin is a senior statistician with NORC at the University of Chicago, where he works on sample design, estimation, and data analysis for government and public interest surveys. He contributes to weighting, total survey error analysis, small area estimation, imputation, and adaptive design for such surveys as the National Immunization Survey and the General Social Survey. Additionally, Seeskin’s expertise includes analyzing administrative data quality and combining data sources for evidence-building. He further serves as an adjunct faculty member with Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies, teaching in the Public Policy and Administration program. Seeskin serves on the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s Standards Committee and Transparency Initiative Coordinating Committee.