Background

Problem solver. Data Scientist. Lover of Buffalo sports and corgis. I graduated from the University of Michigan in April 2016 with a BA in Public Policy with Distinction. After over six years of working in politics, I completed an accelerated Data Science program at the Flatiron School in April 2023. As a grassroots and government relations professional, I led hundreds of volunteers in meeting with their members of Congress to make their voices heard on issues including health care access, cancer research funding, and more. In order to do so, worked collaboratively across departments to set and execute on strategies that supported our organizational goals. Through my experiences in political spaces, I have learned that my skills and solutions-oriented mentality are well-aligned with a career as a data scientist. In my previous roles I was already responsible for identifying and tracking key identifiers of my team's performance - measures such as volunteer engagement, policymaking impacts, and more. Beyond that experience, much of what I learned overlaps with the skillset of a data scientist: my ability to write and present effectively to a lay audience, my strategic- and project-planning experience, and my ability to succeed on teams of all different sizes in both rapid-response and long-term situations. I am confident that making this switch is the correct next step for me. Digging into Python, statistics, machine learning, and more has taught me the hard skills necessary to support a career in fact- and logic-based problem solving, and will enable me to continue to pursue my goal of solving problems for good.

Job experience

• April 2021 - December 2022
  Associate Director of Government Relations and Grassroots Engagement
  National Brain Tumor Society
  

  Washington, D.C., USA

  I was responsible for leading all of our programming related to grassroots public policy advocacy. An example of one of my core responsibilities is that I planned and led a grassroots advocacy day with over 300 participants in support of increased federal funding for cancer research. In planning the event, I analyzed gaps and trends in our volunteer engagement efforts, and tailored our recruitment strategy to maximize our advocacy impact. As a result, we increased our volunteer presence in key states and congressional districts by over 10%.

• July 2020 - April 2021
  Policy Manager
  T1International
  

  Washington, D.C., USA

  I led advocacy campaigns at the state and federal level in support of affordable insulin and diabetes supplies. I created public- and Congressional-facing documents to make the case for changes to existing policy, and built relationships with legislators and other civil society organizations to support our efforts.

• September 2017 - June 2020
  Policy Manager for Health Care
  Indivisible Project
  

  Washington, D.C., USA

  I authored and edited dozens of public-facing informational documents, e-mail newsletters, and Congressional advocacy communications in collaboration with the Communications and Organizing departments. I also built relationships with key Congressional staff and partners including subcommittee and caucus chairs, issue area experts, and other grassroots organizations to advance Indivisible’s federal advocacy program. I was promoted twice in my time at Indivisible for exceptional performance in the Associate and Senior Associate roles.

Education

• Flatiron School
  Certificate in Data Science
  

  2023 - 2023

  Completed 525 clock hours of intensive data science education including developing expertise in Python, SQL, data visualization, and machine learning.
• University of Michigan
  Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy with Distinction
  

  2012 - 2016

  I studied public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. My focus was on inequality in the United States, particularly as it relates to health. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa in April 2016.

• Data Science
  Flatiron School
  

  January 2023 - April 2023