St. Louis Policy Data Project
Description:
The purpose of this project is to provide end users with the capability to visually analyze and compare data pertaining to St. Louis City and County. We accomplished by integrating data from diverse sources into a geospatial or mapping platform and make the data free to download.
My Contributions:
- Consolidated disparate data sources across the St. Louis region into integrated and geographically consistent datasets for comprehensive statistical analysis.
- Worked within a team to develop and maintain a public-facing Tableau dashboard
- Leveraged DataBricks to orchestrate real-time data ingestion, encompassing 311 calls and election data streams
- Facilitated seamless communication between developer and research teams
- Authored documentation and training for the future maintenance of dashboard and website
Current Site:
Amicus Curiae Networks
Description:
In order to study the formation and impact of interest group networks, we created the Amicus Curiae Networks Project, a database of all organized interests (e.g., organizations, associations and corporations) that have signed onto amicus curiae briefs on Supreme Court merits cases over the history of the Court. This list of cosignatories makes it possible to trace the purposive and coordinated behavior of a comprehensive collection of interests.
My Contributions:
- Identified amicus curiae brief signers and stored them in SQL database
- Developed procedures in R and Python to maintain and clean database
- Matched database entries to ancilliary data (e.g., financial data, corporate histories, and political contributions)
- Utilized machine learning methods to effectively process briefs and extract relevant information from text
- Performed network analysis to understand patterns in political behavior
Current Site:
Stories That Win
Description:
A webpage dedicated to the collection of origin stories—political origin stories of politicians, stories of community and national beginnings, heroic tales that literally make local, regional or national public figures, and other stories that people tell and retell. Those are the stories that win, and we want to understand why.
My Contributions:
- Designed a website to intake personal, political, and cultural stories from across the world
- Crafted an initial prototype website using TypeScript and PostGreSQL backend
- Conducted user testing with targeted audiences to enhance the overall user experience of the website.
- Assisted a team of developers to conceptualize and craft the website’s ultimate iteration