This is the tenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 17-18 October 2025. Christine Kirkpatrick is a candidate for CODATA Secretary General; incumbent and standing unopposed. She was nominated by the USA. 

Greetings, CODATA Community! It has been my honor to serve as Secretary General for the past four years. Over that time, I’ve learned much about our organization and forged bonds to work with individual members, the International Science Council, other national committees, affiliated organizations, and unions. 

In my first term, I was active in strategic planning, supporting the Secretariat in challenges large and small, and brought my background as a Computer Scientist and data person together to inform our AI strategy. That work resulted in a concept paper co-authored with my fellow executive committee member, Prof. Tyng-Ruey Chuang. I took part in one of the working groups for the Global Open Science Cloud (GOSC), and served on the advisory boards for the Cross Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF) and the CODATA-RDA School of Research Data Science (SORDS). I engaged with members formally and informally, contributed to CODATA’s positive culture and harmony, liaised with task groups, wrote letters of collaboration, forged new partnerships, spoke at member events, and was part of a podcast series spearheaded by the head of CODATA’s early career initiative. In May 2024, I represented the UNESCO-CODATA Data Policy in Times of Crisis WG at the UN Science and Technology & Innovation (STI) Forum for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I was put forward by the ISC to speak to the Group of Friends on Science for Action at the UN, a coalition of ambassadors using direct engagement with scientists to inform policy.  

My home institution is the San Diego Supercomputer Center where I lead the Research Data Services division and head GO FAIR US. I am a founding faculty of University of California San Diego’s School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences. Aside from my work in research data and Computer Science, I am also a part of the Stakeholder Alignment Collaborative – a team of interdisciplinary scholars led by Prof. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld. This past year we released a book, “The Consortia Century” that examined ways individuals join to achieve together what they can’t do alone, particularly related to challenges around data-driven research. In looking across hundreds of consortia, I can say with confidence that CODATA is a very special, very successful organization. It is imperative that we link arms – both with old friends and making room for new members, to continue to ensure CODATA is a forum for identifying pain points and opportunities, for experimentation and practical solutions, and for advancing science in the long tradition of our sister organization the International Science Counci,l and the unions and national committees represented.

I feel confident in my ability to serve CODATA for another term. I pledge to all of you to be available, to work on behalf of you and the groups that you represent so that your voices are heard and your goals and CODATA’s are aligned for positive impact.