Bonnie Nelson

Bonnie Nelson is a senior program officer on the Washington State team at the Gates Foundation. In her role, she promotes strengthening data infrastructure and driving data use to support stronger education outcomes. With a strong belief that data work is people work, Bonnie brings experience in data governance, statewide longitudinal data systems, and place-based partnerships to inform the team’s work to advance educational equity across Washington.

Before joining the foundation, Bonnie led the data governance program at Washington’s Education Research & Data Center (ERDC), where she oversaw data-sharing partnerships for statewide data collections and helped strengthen research partnerships with data providers and users. Her work focused on increasing transparency and accountability around education data use, ensuring that data systems better serve the needs of students, families, and policymakers.

Earlier in her career, Bonnie worked in university-community engagement at both Seattle University and the University of Washington, focusing on collaboration between higher education institutions and local communities.

Bonnie holds an Ed.D. and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Washington and a B.S. from Pacific Lutheran University.

Fun Facts:

• One of my earliest memories is playing beneath the conference room table in the Adna School District superintendent’s office while my mom led the levy campaign to build the school I eventually graduated from.
• I have learned (and now forgotten) how to speak Norwegian and Mongolian.