11-21, 15:30–16:00 (Pacific/Auckland), WG403
Open data has delivered access, but not connection. This talk explores the space between silos, the overlooked disconnect where open data must evolve to become infrastructure.
Open data has delivered access, but not connection. Datasets are frequently released in isolation, without the shared foundations that make them interoperable or enduring. This talk explores the space between those silos, the overlooked disconnect where open data must evolve to become infrastructure. In that space, openness shifts from publishing files to maintaining shared identifiers, schemas, and governance, the connective framework that allows data to work together. Drawing on the experience of the Overture Maps Foundation, this talk examines how open data can mature into open systems, and how treating data as infrastructure can transform fragmented efforts into something stable, trustworthy, and collaborative. The goal is not simply more openness, but a more connected foundation: data that is open, usable, and part of the world’s common infrastructure.
Amy is the Chief Technology Officer at Overture Maps Foundation where she is responsible for guiding Overture's technical roadmap, infrastructure design, and data interoperability strategy. Her previous work in the geospatial domain spans nearly 30 years, designing, building, and deploying geospatial data and technology solutions for human health and security, environmental remediation, logistics, and transportation planning projects.
Amy has worked for multiple organizations across the academic, private sector, and government ecosystems, most recently at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she worked with interdisciplinary teams to model and map both the built environment and highly resolved estimates of human population at global scale. Amy received her PhD in Geography from The University of Tennessee, and an MS in Geography with a graduate minor in Logistics and Transportation.