Nicole L. Waters

Nicole L. Waters oversees a team of data scientists and researchers who focus on court data projects and applications of AI. 

She directs the Court Statistics Project and oversees the Census of State Courts. She led the National Open Court Data Standards project, which developed a national set of data elements for state courts. She teaches courses in research and evaluation methods for court leaders and judges and serves on NCSC's Education and Professional Development advisory board.

She received a Ph.D. in sociology (specialization in law and society and research methodology/statistics) from the University of Delaware; an M.A. (general experimental psychology) from California State University, Fresno; and a B.A. (psychology and statistics) from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.