State Dept. Deputy CDAO Garrett Berntsen Announces Departure

Garrett Berntsen, Deputy Chief Data and AI Officer (CDAO) at the U.S. Department of State, announced on LinkedIn that he will be leaving his post in the coming weeks. He said he will soon share more information about his next role.

Berntsen said in his post:

When we started there were only a handful of us in a cramped cube farm working off spreadsheets, R with no packages, and an Access database – trying to do basic analysis on budget, personnel, and foreign assistance issues. The whole idea that the State Department could be “data driven” seemed farsical. When we pitched people on the idea of data science for diplomacy they often struggled to keep a straight face. Now State has put technology and AI at the forefront of its diplomacy and modernization.

It’s incredible what change 7 years of grit, some good fortune, and visionary leaders (I don’t mean me) can bring.