Natalie Evans Harris’ Journey from NSA to Transformative Public Sector Leadership
From launching her career at the National Security Agency (NSA) to shaping statewide data strategy as State of Maryland’s chief data officer, Natalie Evans Harris has built a legacy grounded in ethical leadership, innovation, and a deep commitment to public service. Her path from federal intelligence to nonprofit advocacy, consulting, and state government reveals a consistent focus on using data responsibly to improve lives.
“I started my career at NSA and was there for close to 15 years,” Evans Harris says. “The last three of those years, I spent outside the intelligence community—first as a Brookings Fellow with Senator Cory Booker doing tech policy, then at the White House as a Senior Policy Advisor for Data in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.” From these experiences she learned to build a strong, responsible data culture that requires more than technical expertise. It demands a deliberate focus on infrastructure, governance, and people.
After her time as a senior policy advisor, she briefly returned to NSA but found herself increasingly drawn to work at the intersection of data and the public good. That passion led her to launch her own advisory firm.
“I was getting asked often to support this initiative or that effort, so I formed the LLC as a way to continue my passion projects while figuring out what I wanted to do next,” she explains.
Through her consulting work, Evans Harris supported nonprofit organizations, developed integrated data strategies, and played a key role in shaping ethical frameworks for the data science community, including the Community-driven Principled for Ethical Data Sharing(CPEDS) now known as Global Data Ethics Projects (GDEP), among others.
“At the time, there was no data science code of ethics. There was a lot of talk, a lot of misinformation emerging,” she said. “I partnered with Data for Democracy and brought together data scientists from around the world to create one.
She continued championing ethical data practices through her work as a fellow at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. There, she co-led the State Chief Data Officers Network, helping state leaders collaborate, share best practices, and embed equity into their strategies. These experiences laid the foundation for her current role in the State of Maryland Department of Information Technology.
“Everything I’ve talked about—responsible data use, data for social impact—I now get to put into practice. It’s like putting my money where my mouth is,” Evans Harris said.
As the State of Maryland’s chief data officer, Evans Harris has been instrumental in crafting and implementing a comprehensive statewide data strategy centered on three pillars: infrastructure, governance, and people. Since her appointment in May 2024, she has focused on modernizing the state’s data architecture and fostering a data-driven culture across State of Maryland’s government agencies.
“It helps that I have a governor who loves data,” she added. “I have an ecosystem now where I can really build the environment I’ve always wanted to see.”
But for Evans Harris, data alone is never enough.
“We have an open data platform with tons of data. But data without context doesn’t mean anything,” she explains. “We collect data to serve people. You can’t do that unless you also understand the communities you’re serving.”
Evans Harris also emphasized the importance of creating work environments that reflect her values as a leader: maintaining a healthy work-life balance and remaining flexible on strategies and approaches—like no-meeting Fridays—that ensure people can “bring their best to this work.”
Her reflective approach to leadership has been shaped by years of learning, evolving, and discovering that she “can best serve when I’m also taking care of myself.” For Evans Harris, that also means recognizing her own strengths as well as the strengths of those around her.
“A mentor once told me: you can’t steer the boat and row it at the same time. You have to pick,” she said. “I’ve realized I’m a much stronger steer than rower. If I get out of the way, people will row.”
Among her proudest accomplishments is her work with the Black Wealth Data Center, where she served as founding executive director; co-creating the Federal Data Cabinet, a network of federal data leaders; and helping to develop the ethical data sharing principles with the Global Data Ethics Projects.
“The things I’m proudest of are the ones where I brought together really smart people and helped them accomplish something big,” Evans Harris said. “I didn’t write a word of that code of ethics, but I helped guide the people who did.”
Throughout her journey, storytelling has been a core part of how she approaches data. For Evans Harris, data is more than numbers and platforms. It’s a vehicle for empathy, equity, and lasting transformation—one guided by principle, powered by people, and grounded in purpose.
“Data is most powerful in the hands of people. Storytelling is one way to make that happen,” she says.