Beeck Center Appoints Lynn Overmann as Executive Director
Overmann to oversee all Beeck Center initiatives as the organization continues to bring together the brightest minds and the most promising ideas to make societal systems work for everyone
The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, an interdisciplinary organization focused on projects that solve societal challenges using data, design, technology, and policy, is proud to announce Lynn Overmann as its new Executive Director, effective March 6, 2023.
“As the Beeck Center enters its next phase of growth and development, there is no one better to lead our team than Lynn,” said Alberto Beeck, Cofounder of the Beeck Center and Chair of its Advisory Board. “We look forward to scaling our impact under Lynn’s leadership to reach even more people with improved digital government services and continue to inspire more students to pursue this critically important work.”
Overmann joins the Beeck Center from her role as Senior Advisor for Delivery with the U.S. Digital Service, embedded in the White House Domestic Policy Council to advise Ambassador Susan Rice and U.S. Digital Service Administrator Mina Hsiang. In this role, she led strategic initiatives to leverage data and technology to advance criminal justice reform, improve the delivery of safety net benefits, and increase adoption of evidence-based policies to increase economic mobility. Overmann brings over two decades of varied experience at the most senior levels of government, philanthropy, and academia to the Beeck Center.
“We are thrilled to welcome Lynn Overmann to the Beeck Center and greater Georgetown community,” commented Georgetown Provost Robert M. Groves. “Her extensive experience driving strategy at the highest levels will prove integral as the Beeck Center continues to reimagine the future of public interest technology.”
As Executive Director, Overmann will serve as the Beeck Center’s primary spokesperson and lead fundraising and development efforts as the organization continues to expand its reach and impact amidst a recently announced $11 million in new funding.
“I am honored to be named Executive Director of the Beeck Center and join this incredibly talented team of faculty, fellows, and students at Georgetown,” said Lynn Overmann. “I’m looking forward to diving in and continuing to accelerate data-driven, human-centered solutions that will most improve people’s lives, especially for our most vulnerable populations.”
About Lynn Overmann
Lynn Overmann recently served as a Senior Advisor for Delivery for the U.S. Digital Service, embedded in the Domestic Policy Council to advise Ambassador Susan Rice on priority policy implementation. In this role, Overmann oversaw teams of digital service experts across diverse projects, including targeted efforts to make the asylum system more effective and humane, increasing access to federal funding for low-capacity communities, and improving the delivery of safety net benefits. Overmann also served as a Senior Advisor for Delivery at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leading the department’s work to leverage data and human centered design to advance equity, streamline critical funding programs, and improve insights into rural economies.
Prior to the U.S. Digital Service, Overmann served as Senior Data Strategist at Opportunity Insights, a research and policy institute based at Harvard University that leverages big data to improve economic mobility. Overmann also served as a Vice President of Criminal Justice and head of the DC Office at Arnold Ventures, where she led a team that developed and executed a multi-million grant portfolio focused on leveraging data and technology to reduce low-level arrests in police departments across the country.
Overmann served during the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she launched the Data Driven Justice Initiative. Overmann served in several senior policy positions at the U.S. Department of Justice as well, where she helped establish the Access to Justice Initiative, and as Deputy Chief Data Officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Before joining the Obama Administration, Overmann was a civil rights and criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida, starting her career by serving as a public defender for five years, litigating dozens of cases to jury trial and successfully challenging unconstitutional practices in police departments and jails. Overmann graduated from the NYU School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College.
Press Contact:
Joanna Rosholm, Original Strategies
beeckcenter@originalstrategies.com