About Me

I help to build more resilient, equitable cities by reshaping city policy.

I use spatial analysis, mapping, and data science to understand and interpret interlocking urban challenges. Through grounded research and effective communication, I bring about policy change and practical reform. I work with communities to uncover issues, convey local needs, and advocate for policy change.

I work as a data policy analyst in the office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. I sift through city data to identify and expose inequities, pinpoint ways City government can be more effective, and build tools to allow transparency and encourage engagement in policy making.

How I got here

I began my career in policy advocacy, working with Transportation for America to reform federal, state, and local transportation policies to support vibrant cities that are safe to walk and bike and provide access to opportunities. I lobbied for legislative change, researched and wrote succinct policy reports, and trained local leaders to launch transformative campaigns. By identifying and effectively communicating the need for change and working with community leaders I was able to help change state policies to use objective measures (including access to jobs and climate emissions reductions) to evaluate and choose infrastructure projects.

I wanted to scale up my work and share the knowledge I had built about city planning and development to a broader audience, so joined Localize.city, a rapidly-growing startup building an urban intelligence real estate platform. I got to spend my time researching neighborhoods and describing how places were likely to change based on zoning and land use, market dynamics, and unique local culture. I collaborated with a smart team of urban planners, data scientists, and product designers to turn city data into meaningful insights, like calibrating the distance from a city park where you could reasonably say you were ‘near a park,’ identifying food deserts, or digitizing messy city data to extract zoning districts.

Having seen the potential of city data and spatial analysis, I was eager to build up my technical skills. I studied for a M.S. in Applied Urban Science at NYU’s Center for Urban Science + Progress, where I learned cutting-edge data science and spatial analysis tools focused on complex urban challenges. I worked on applied research projects with scholars at the Furman Center and Marron Institute and collaborated with brilliant classmates to design original research and analysis applications. (Many of my projects are detailed on the Projects page).

Also

I live in Brooklyn and like to spend my free time outdoors and traversing New York City to sample great food from around the world.