Bowdish Named Director of the Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System
Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner has named Melanie Bowdish as director, Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System (RILDS) and the RILDS Center. The center manages and operates the RILDS, which exists to inform policy and facilitate research that improves the well-being of Rhode Islanders.
“With her deep expertise in state education, employment, and health data plus experience in emerging technology services, Melanie Bowdish is dedicated to advancing RILDS’s mission of supporting the economic success of Rhode Island,” said Shannon Gilkey, Ed.D., commissioner of higher education in Rhode Island. “She arrives at an exciting time, when the longitudinal data system is poised for tremendous growth in the near future, and she is the right leader at the right time.”
Created in 1992 the RILDS Center is committed to data use for the public good. The Rhode Island General Assembly, in 2022, relocated the RILDS and center to the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner and provided funds to support its work. The legislation and the general revenue funding means that RILDS can answer critical state policy questions without the constraints of federal grants. It is a state resource, supporting Rhode Island’s policy and research priorities.
Prior to joining OPC, Bowdish worked with the RILDS as a data analyst, and she led the data dashboard production team in Rhode Island during the COVID-19 era. Most recently, she served as a Senior Manager at commonFont LLC, a technology consulting firm that specializes in experience management (customer and employee experience), providing professional services and large-scale technology migrations for leading global brands.
Bowdish earned a master’s degree from Brown University, a graduate certificate from Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University.
