Susan Ariel Aaronson

Susan Ariel Aaronson is a Research Professor and Director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at George Washington University. Aaronson conceived of and directs the Hub, which aims to educate policymakers, the press and the public about domestic and international data governance issues from digital trade to public data governance.

Aaronson is also a Cross-Disciplinary Fellow and affiliate at GWU’s Institute for International Economic Policy, the Institute for Science and Technology Policy and the Sigur Center. She is also a Senior Fellow at the think tank Center for International Governance Innovation (GIGI) in Canada where she publishes much of her research

Aaronson is currently directing projects on mapping data governance; and writing on comparative advantage in data; trade as a tool to counter disinformation; data and national security, and America’s approach to stimulating AI. Her research has been funded by the Hewlett, MacArthur, Koch, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations; governments such as the Netherlands, U.S., and Canada; the UN, ILO, and World Bank, and U.S. corporations including Ford Motor and Levi Strauss.

Dr. Aaronson is a frequent speaker and writer on international economic developments. She regularly writes op eds for Barrons. Aaronson has commented on economics on "Marketplace, "All Things Considered," Morning Edition," NBC, CNN, the BBC, and PBS. Previously, Aaronson was a Guest Scholar in Economics at the Brookings Institution (1995–1999); and a Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute 2008-2012. Aaronson was also the Carvalho Fellow at the Government Accountability Project and the Minerva Chair at the National War College.

GWU is a member of the Public Interest Technology Network and as the designated representative Aaronson works to encourage education and research that facilitates public understanding of technology and technology that serves the public. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Human Rights Under Pressure (a doctoral program funded by the German and Israeli government to teach human rights); and the Advisory Board of Business and Human Rights.org. In recent years, she has been a pro-bono advisor to the UN Special Representative on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. She has also consulted for the ILO; the World Bank; Free the Slaves; the Ford Foundation; the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; the Progressive Policy Institute the Stanley Foundation; several corporations; and the governments of Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands, among others. In her spare time, Aaronson enjoys triathlons and ballet.