Jess Reia is an assistant professor of data science interested in the untold stories in our datasets and how to meaningfully include communities in data policy and decision-making. They work primarily on topics of data justice, urban governance, and technology policy transnationally. For the past decade, their research and advocacy agenda has focused on fostering dialogues with government and civil society in three countries: Brazil, Canada, and the United States. Reia is a faculty lead at the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab at the Karsh Institute for Democracy and a 2024–2025 Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Before joining UVA, they were appointed Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Researcher at McGill University, studying the impact of smart-washing and datafication in nocturnal urban spaces and their communities. Reia held a two-year mandate as a member of MTL 24/24’s first Night Council in Montreal, providing guidance on data collection and open data practices. From 2011 to 2019, they worked at the Center for Technology & Society at FGV Law School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Reia served as an External Evaluator for the 2024–2026 Just Tech Fellowship.