Kelly Jin

Technology, Institutions & Public Impact | Former Knight Foundation VP and NYC Chief Analytics Officer

United States

About

I work at the intersection of technology, institutions, leadership, and public impact — helping organizations navigate change, build capacity, and adapt during periods of transformation. I’ve served in senior leadership roles across philanthropy, government, analytics, civic innovation, and emerging technology. Most recently, I served as Vice President for AI & Insights and Chief of Staff to the President & CEO at Knight Foundation, where I worked across enterprise strategy, analytics, AI adoption, and organizational leadership. From 2021–2025, I led Knight’s Communities and National Initiatives portfolio, overseeing a distributed team of 20 and more than $230 million in investments and initiatives across 26 U.S. cities. Prior to Knight, I was appointed by Mayor de Blasio as New York City’s Chief Analytics Officer, leading analytics and data initiatives serving more than 8.5 million New Yorkers, including leadership of the nation’s largest municipal open data platform. Earlier in my career, I worked in the Obama White House as a policy advisor focused on technology, data, and cross-agency initiatives to improve government effectiveness and public service delivery. I began my career in management consulting, supporting large-scale strategy and organizational transformation efforts across public and private sector organizations. Across sectors, I’ve been particularly interested in how organizations translate emerging technologies and ambitious ideas into durable operational capability and meaningful outcomes.

Experience

  • Advisor at Independent
    Jan 2026 - Present · 7 mos

    Advising organizations and leaders on strategy, technology, analytics, organizational transformation, and AI initiatives.

  • Board Member at iNaturalist
    Oct 2025 - Present · 10 mos

  • Advisory Council Member, Alliance for Social Trust at The Aspen Institute
    2025 - Present · 1 yr 7 mos

  • Knight Foundation (Miami, Florida, United States)
    • Chief of Staff to the President & CEO and VP for AI and Insights
      May 2025 - Dec 2025 · 8 mos

    • Chief of Staff to the President & CEO and Vice President for Communities
      Oct 2024 - May 2025 · 8 mos

    • Vice President for Community & National Initiatives
      Feb 2021 - Oct 2024 · 3 yrs 9 mos

  • Trustee at Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
    2021 - 2025 · 4 yrs