Archivist of the United States Names Pamela Wright Chief Innovation Officer
Press Release · Friday, November 30, 2012

Washington, DC…Archivist of the United State David S. Ferriero today announced the appointment of Pamela Wright as the National Archives’ first Chief Innovation Officer, effective December 2, 2012.

Ms. Wright will lead the agency in developing innovative ways to share the National Archives’ extensive holdings with the public. She plans to create a so-called “Innovation Hub” to develop and launch collaborative projects, raise public challenges, and form partnerships with the archival community, industry, and academic institutions.

In making the announcement, Archivist Ferriero said, “This new office is charged with fostering a culture of innovation at the National Archives and I am pleased that Pamela Wright has been selected to lead it. With her extensive experience, proven leadership, and innovative spirit, she is well suited to lead this effort."

Ms. Wright started at the National Archives in 2001 and has spent the past seven years promoting digital access and strategy. Prior to this appointment, she served as the agency’s first Chief Digital Access Strategist and launched many of the National Archives’ now robust social media platforms. She created a “Citizen Archivist Dashboard” to make National Archives records more accessible online by using crowdsourcing to tag, transcribe, and edit articles, as well as to upload and share scans or images of records. She also advanced the first agency tool for online internal communication – the Internal Collaboration Network (ICN).

Ms. Wright represents the National Archives on the White House Open Government Working Group. She has spearheaded several internal working groups and teams dedicated to advancing the “Open Government” goals of transparency, participation, and collaboration.

She began her career at the National Archives as a processing archivist. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in History and English from the University of Montana, and earned a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.

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For press information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at (202) 357-5300.

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