Biden Administration Names DOD’s Karin Orvis as Chief Statistician

On April 29, it was announced that President Biden would name Karin Orvis as the permanent Chief Statistician of the United States at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a position that has been vacant for more than two years. Orvis comes to OMB with experience from the Department of Defense (DOD), having previously served as the director of DOD’s Defense Suicide Prevention Office, as acting principal director of military community and family policy, and as director of DOD’s Transition to Veterans Program Office.

The role of Chief Statistician has not had a permanent director since Nancy Potok retired from the role at the end of 2019. The Chief Statistician is responsible for coordinating policy across the network of agencies within the federal statistical system and is a leader in data policy and evidence-based policymaking. As Chief Statistician, Orvis will also serve on the White House Equitable Data Working Group that released a series of recommendations to promote equity in federal data a few weeks prior (see previous COSSA coverage). More information about the appointment is available here.