Census Bureau Names Randall Akee to National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau today announced 10 new members of its National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations and has named Randall Akee from the University of California, Los Angeles as a member of the committee.

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The National Advisory Committee advises the Census Bureau on a wide range of variables that affect the cost, accuracy and implementation of the Census Bureau's programs and surveys, including the once-a-decade census. The committee, which is comprised of 32 members from multiple disciplines, advises the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race, ethnicity and sexual-orientation issues.

"The committee has helped us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing high-quality statistics about our diverse nation," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. "By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee ensures that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically oriented society."

The National Advisory Committee members, who serve at the discretion of the Census Bureau director, are chosen to serve based on their expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of "hard-to-count" populations. The new members will be seated on Aug. 1.

Akee is an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Public Policy. He completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in June 2006. Prior to his doctoral studies, Akee earned a master's degree in international and development economics at Yale University. He also spent several years working for the Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs Economic Development Division. Akee is a research fellow at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and at the Institute for the Study of Labor. His main research interests are labor economics, economic development and migration. Akee has worked on several American Indian reservations, Canadian First Nations, and Pacific Island nations in addition to working in various Native Hawaiian communities.

National release

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau