Autumn Carter is the Executive Director of California Common Sense, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to making government more transparent and promoting civic engagement in California. The organization's government financial and governance research has appeared in major media outlets throughout California and the United States. Autumn began working for California Common Sense when it began at Stanford University in 2010. She later earned a B.A. in Political Science with Concentrations in American Politics and Political Theory. She has conducted academic research regarding public opinion survey methodology, and she specializes in public policy analysis and applying public data. She believes that rich context transforms data into information, thereby imbuing data with true value.