Miami’s Knight Foundation hires VP for community initiatives from New York

After stints working for the City of New York and the White House, Kelly Jin is joining Miami’s John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as vice president for community and national initiatives.

Jin will lead the foundation’s national efforts to promote equitable and inclusive engagement in cities across the country. She said her most immediate focus will be on the pandemic.

“It all comes back to COVID. How do we continue to respond to the pandemic and ensure a coordinated response for vaccinations and economic recovery across jurisdictions?” Jin said.

Leveraging technology as a tool in that response will be key, she said.

Jin’s experience includes the public and private sectors. In her recent role as chief analytics officer for the City of New York and director of the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, she launched the NYC Recovery Data Partnership. The initiative helped local officials make informed decisions in response to COVID-19 using real-time data shared by companies.

Her policy experience extends to the White House, where she advised the country’s chief technology officer in the Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2016 to 2017 and worked as advisor on the Domestic Policy Council from 2012 to 2013.

Jin was previously the director of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, now known as Arnold Ventures, where she led the nonprofit’s Data Driven Justice Project. The initiative used analytics to help address challenges in the criminal justice system and strengthen preventive services aimed at reducing jail stays and hospital visits.

Equity initiatives and increasing representation in leadership and philanthropic roles are another focus for Jin, she said.

“It’s not just about a city as a whole,” she said. “Different neighborhoods and communities have very different needs.”

Jin is planning a virtual listening tour soon after she steps into her new role in February.

“We welcome Kelly and look forward to working with her to create more informed, engaged and equitable communities,” AIberto Ibargüen, Knight’s president, said in a statement. “She brings a razor-sharp mind bent on using technology for positive impact in American communities.”