Lindsay Poirier is a cultural anthropologist at Smith College, specializing in data advocacy, governance, and infrastructure. Through a combination of cultural analysis and exploratory data analysis methods, Poirier investigates the process of assigning meaning to data. Her critical examination focuses on understanding who interprets data, for whom, in what circumstances, and for what purposes. Drawing on her background in critical data studies, information studies, digital humanities, and data science, Poirier’s current research delves into the origin, structure, symbolic meaning, and reception of public interest datasets that document instances of social and environmental injustices in the United States.

Lindsay Poirier was a Mercator Fellow at Fixing Futures in February 2024.