NASEM Appoints Tom Krenzke to Disclosure Avoidance Panel

Tom Krenzke, M.S., a Westat Vice President and Senior Statistical Fellow, has been appointed a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) panel: A Roadmap for Disclosure Avoidance in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This honor recognizes Mr. Krenzke’s significant experience in and contributions to research in statistical confidentiality. This appointment has been approved by Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences and Chair of the National Research Council, and Dr. Michael Hout, Chair of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE).

The panel will consider, among other items,

• Evolving privacy risks to releasing survey data
• Developments in methods for protecting privacy and reducing risks of disclosure
• Dimensionality and longitudinal nature of the SIPP data

“The objective of balancing disclosure risk reduction with data utility retention has not changed, but the environment among which data are being shared has changed considerably,” noted Mr. Krenzke. “The committee will study how this changing environment impacts how SIPP data should be handled. Recommendations from the panel could be helpful when making decisions about other survey data going forward.”