Team DFP

Executive Director

@ryanodonnellpa

Ryan (he/him) is the executive director of Data for Progress. He joined the team in 2019 and helped build the organization's electoral and polling methodology work into a core part of its research and strategy. In his current role, he oversees the organization's overall direction, operations, and research.

Prior to working at Data for Progress, Ryan worked in organizing and data at SEIU, the DNC, and various campaigns, including Barack Obama, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, and others. In his free time, you can find Ryan at the dog park.

Polling Principal and Research Director

@evangelpenumaka

Evangel (she/her/hers) is the polling principal and research director at Data for Progress. She supports polling and data analysis across various projects. She holds a Ph.D. from UCLA in political science with a focus on race and ethnicity, political attitudes, and Asian-American political behavior. In her spare time she is an avid amateur runner.

Lead Analyst and Omnibus Manager

Isa (he/him/his) is a lead analyst and the omnibus manager at Data for Progress. He supports the polling team across various projects, and works on surveys and polling analysis. He recently graduated from NYU with a degree in quantitative economics and political science, and he is passionate about using data to support progressive policy. In his free time, Isa enjoys reading fantasy and cooking.

Lead Analyst

@Brian_C_Burton

Brian (he/him/his) is a lead analyst at Data for Progress. Prior to DFP, he worked as an analyst at Priorities USA, where he studied the results of creative focus tests to drive strategic media planning and measured the in-field performances of ads. Before that, he was a statistician at the U.S. Antitrust Division, where he researched the effects of mergers and helped investigate anticompetitive behavior across several different industries. Brian graduated from American University in 2016 with degrees in international development and economics.

Lead Analyst

@AnikaDandekar

Anika (she/her/hers) is a lead analyst at Data for Progress and is passionate about using polling to advance economic justice. Previously, she did grassroots organizing work for Black Voters Matter and Children Now, and has lobbied in Sacramento on behalf of the ACLU. Anika graduated from UC San Diego with degrees in economics and public policy, with highest honors for the latter. Her paper, Politics of Antitrust, won the Sanford Lakoff Award for the “Most Outstanding Honors Thesis in Political Science”. She enjoys hiking, painting, panicking about the state of American democracy, and trying new foods.

Senior Analyst

@tenten_wins

Tenneth (he/him/his) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress. Before joining DFP, he worked as a graduate research assistant at CUNY Baruch College where he helped his former professor with his research on the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and how successful the U.S federal government has been in implementing it since the law was enacted. Tenneth received both his master’s degree in international affairs with a focus on trade policy and global economic governance and his bachelor’s degree in public affairs at CUNY Baruch College. A born New Yorker, Tenneth is a die-hard fan of the New York Knicks and catches every game he can.

Polling Analyst

Jenna Scarbrough (she/her/hers) is a polling analyst for Data for Progress. Prior to this role, she conducted public opinion research and message testing for Lake Research Partners on behalf of progressive advocacy groups, and earned a master’s degree in political communication from American University. Jenna also completed a Fulbright grant in rural Malaysia, served as the communications director for a state House race in her home district in South Dakota, and interned for Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. Based in Portland, Oregon, Jenna enjoys biking, reading, and learning the banjo.

Senior Climate Strategist

@GraceAdcox

Grace (she/her/hers) is the senior climate strategist at Data for Progress. At DFP, she leads climate polling and message testing research, using data to support movement partners to advance climate action and the deployment of community-first climate infrastructure. Prior to joining the climate team at DFP, Grace served as assistant director of the ROCCA Lab at Vanderbilt University, coordinating multidisciplinary research projects on political violence and collective action problems. A Nashville native, Grace attended Vanderbilt for both her master’s degree in international relations and her bachelor’s degree in political science and Asian studies.

Climate Program Manager

@cathfraser.bsky.social / @cathwfraser

Catherine (she/her/hers) is the climate program manager at Data for Progress. She leads DFP’s work to advance progressive climate policy at the intersection of economic and social justice. Catherine is particularly focused on leveraging policy analysis, data, and public opinion research to embed climate action as part of a broader political project to shore up democracy, deliver for working people, and advance global cooperation. Catherine holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Colby College. Catherine is a graduate fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. Catherine loves DC’s Capital Bikeshare and the Washington Spirit.

Senior Resident Fellow for Climate, Labor, and Economic Policy

Betony (she/her) has more than 25 years experience working across government, philanthropy, nonprofit and academic sectors to advance innovations at the intersection of climate change, labor, and economic development. Most recently, as a Senior Advisor on labor to Secretary Granholm and Director of the Office of Energy Jobs at the U.S. Department of Energy, she co-designed and led the Department’s novel Community Benefits Plan framework, which integrated strong labor and community standards across $500B of federally-funded clean energy projects. As a senior resident fellow at Data for Progress, Betony focuses on making the guidance and data on good jobs and community benefits generated during the Biden administration accessible and actionable for organizers, advocates, and scholars to continue to demonstrate that the transition to a low carbon economy can lead to broadly shared prosperity.

Tech Director

@erin_c_thomas

Erin (she/her/hers) is the tech director at Data for Progress. Combining her previous experience at policy firms, design studios, and tech startups, Erin uses web development as a tool to make complex data accessible and understandable. She holds a degree in political science from Macalester College. She currently lives in Chicago.

Survey Methodology Engineer

Cecilia (she/her/hers) is a methodology engineer at Data for Progress. She has worked in data analysis focused on policy evaluation and guiding programmatic decision making in a variety of government sectors. She holds a degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. In her free time she enjoys biking and drawing.

Senior Software Engineer

Jamie (he/him/his) is a senior software engineer at Data for Progress. At his previous workplace, Amazon, he helped organize the 2019 workplace walk-out with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, which led to Jeff Bezos’s announcement of the Climate Pledge. Jamie holds a BA in German – with a concentration in German philosophy and intellectual history – from Princeton University. He grew up on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and now lives in Brooklyn. Outside of work, Jamie enjoys creative writing, playing violin in his string quartet, salsa dancing, running, and trying new fountain pen inks.

Communications Director

@robtodaro

Rob (he/him/his) is the communications director at Data for Progress. Before joining DFP, Rob worked at The Trevor Project, managing the comms strategy for the organization’s research and advocacy work related to LGBTQ youth mental health. Prior to that, he started his career in public service by working for Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the NYC Council. Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in political communication from GW’s School of Media & Public Affairs. He can usually be found listening to pop music and bopping around North Brooklyn (and any other restaurants and queer spaces the L train will take him to).

Press Secretary

@abby_springs

Abby (she/her/hers) is the press secretary at Data for Progress. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied government and political communication. While interning at the Texas Legislature and a local progressive nonprofit, she helped advocate for voting rights, abortion access, and fixing the energy grid. Before joining DFP, she also worked as a speechwriting intern for West Wing Writers. When she’s not online, you can find her kayaking, going to concerts, or starting another crochet project even though she hasn’t finished her last one.

Communications Strategist

@LewBlank

Lew (he/him/his) is a communications strategist for Data for Progress. He holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and bachelor’s degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He previously served as campaign manager for Nancy McLean for State Senate. In his free time, Lew enjoys hiking, spending time with friends, playing basketball, and visiting new places.

Finance and Operations Manager

Emma (she/her/hers) is the finance and operations manager at Data for Progress where her main role is to maintain organized operational and financial systems. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Texas. Before joining DFP she was a student organizer at Battleground Texas, where she registered college students (and many more) to vote. Emma currently resides in Denton, Texas where you can find her spending time with her dog, reading a mystery book, or brainstorming how to make processes around her more efficient.

Senior Resident Fellow

@matthewcort.land‬

Matthew (they/them) is a senior resident fellow at Data For Progress where their work includes a focus on disability policy. Prior to joining DFP, they were director of policy and legislative affairs at Be A Hero where they worked to advance health care as a human right. Matthew has personally relied on SNAP, SSI, and Medicaid. Their graduate training is in law and in public health.

Senior Advisor

@johannes_ff

Johannes (he/him/his) is a senior advisor at Data for Progress. He holds a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University. Previously, he worked as an analytics and data engineer for the DNC and on progressive campaigns. Johannes was born in Germany, and enjoys biking and black licorice.

Senior Advisor

@jasonkatzbrown

Jason (he/him/his) is a senior advisor for Data for Progress, where he created DFP's internal platform for fielding and analyzing surveys. Before joining DFP as CTO in 2020, he was the organizing technology lead on Warren for President, where the team worked under a "SMALL TECH" mural and strove to empower every volunteer and voter in the fight for big, structural change. Jason grew up in Richmond, Calif., graduated with a master's degree in natural language processing from MIT, then worked on translation quality in Google's Tokyo office and international growth at Airbnb.

Senior Advisor

@colinjmcauliffe

Colin (he/him/his) is a senior advisor at Data for Progress. His professional and educational background is in computational solid mechanics. At Data for Progress, Colin researches survey nonresponse, new methods for message testing, and bridging the gap between surveys and real-world issue salience.

Qualitative Research Coordinator

Charlotte Scott (she/her) manages qualitative research at Data for Progress. She is a RIVA trained qualitative moderator, and works with DFP to recruit for, conduct, and analyze nationwide interviews and focus groups online and in-person. A Washington DC native, she now lives in Philadelphia where she is pursuing her PhD in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time she’s baking, reading about infrastructure, or taking the bus.

Analytics Advisor

Kevin Hanley (he/him/his) is an analytics advisor at Data for Progress, focusing on climate and electoral work. Prior to DFP, Kevin worked as a research analyst at Accountable.US and Global Strategy Group. Kevin earned his B.A. from New York University and now lives in Brooklyn where he is a J.D. candidate at Brooklyn Law School. In his free time, you can find him biking in Prospect Park.