We are a team of impact nerds.

Achilleas Ghinis

Data Scientist

Prior to joining to joining BlueLabs Achilleas completed a double major in Statistics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has a deep interest in applying statistical methods to better understand the world and inform the decision-making process. In his free time he enjoys exploring DC, watching football (the European kind) and catching up on news from home, particularly what his dogs are up to.

Ali Collins

Campaign Analytics Manager

Ali is a Campaign Analyst at BlueLabs. Before joining the team, Ali completed her Master in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, where she explored political analytics and co-founded the Women in Power Conference. She aspires to help close the gender gap in local, state and national politics through data-driven campaign strategy. Prior to her graduate program, Ali worked briefly in public opinion research for a progressive public relations firm and as an analyst at a demographic research cooperative. A native of Minnesota, Ali earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her hobbies include knitting and eating Mexican food.

Allyson English

Senior Data Analyst

Allyson is an epidemiologist by training and an impact nerd at heart. After completing an undergraduate degree and Master of Public Health from Boston University, Allyson started her career in global public health. In this role, she supported Ministries of Health and Finance in low- and middle-income countries on topics related to primary health care access, quality of care and financial sustainability. Through this work, she contributed to global measurement and evaluation guidance through the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative and the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage.

In her free time, Allyson enjoys trail running, science fiction, and reading the rulebooks of new board games to introduce to her friends.

Amber Carrier

Director of Polling

Amber Carrier is a survey strategist and data lover with over a decade of experience in qualitative and quantitative research. In her current role as BlueLabs Polling Director, she oversees all polling aspects of the firm's work. Prior to BlueLabs, Amber ran polling and modeling strategy at the DCCC in the blue wave cycle of 2018 that netted 40 congressional seats. Amber was also a Senior Project Manager on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and cut her teeth in surveys a Senior Analyst at The Mellman Group.

Andrew Blythe

Director, Data Science

Andrew is a Lead Data Scientist at BlueLabs. Since joining the BlueLabs team, Andrew has worked with political, commercial and government clients to build statistical models and implement experiments to measure the impact of client programs. He has devised methods to help clients harness their data to improve decisions in real-time including turning into canvassing data into actionable insights.

Prior to joining BlueLabs, Andrew worked at small consulting firm applying Bayesian methods to problems in precision medicine, advertising and the defense industry. He also spent several years as a television news producer, covering major events throughout the Americas for European broadcasters. Andrew received his masters degree in math and statistics from Georgetown. In his off hours, he’s part of a pretty decent bar trivia team and hosts backyard movie nights.

Anna Wechsler

Data Scientist

Prior to joining BlueLabs, Anna studied at Harvard University, where she received a bachelor's degree in statistics with a minor in computer science. While at school, Anna led fundraising efforts for a class-wide philanthropic gift and was also heavily involved in student government, where she worked on a wide variety of issues ranging from education policy to student life. At BlueLabs, Anna now uses her background to provide insight and actionable solutions to clients, both political and non-political, through in-depth analysis and statistical modeling. In her spare time, she is an avid reader, traveler, film score appreciator, and burgeoning vegan foodie who will happily drop everything to discuss the intricacies of authentic hummus.

Anthony Rentsch

Data Analyst

Anthony graduated with two bachelor’s degrees - one in Mathematics and one in Political Science - from the University of Massachusetts before going on to complete a master’s degree in Data Science from Harvard.

He has worked on a slew of projects at the intersection of data science and social good, including modeling vote propensity among survey respondents to improve the accuracy of election polls; building a machine learning system to classify published research papers into topical areas to speed up the creation of medical research meta-analyses used by doctors and other healthcare practitioners; and estimating residential parking capacity to help a municipal government improve their transportation planning and emissions tracking.

Outside of work, Anthony loves to be active, whether it’s running, playing roundnet (also known as Spikeball), competing on his beloved UMass alumni softball team, or exploring D.C.

April Pierce

People Operations Manager

April is a People Operations Manager at BlueLabs, but her job day-to-day extends far beyond that. With her degree in interior design and years long experience in the restaurant industry and at USDA, April brings a multifaceted and nuanced approach to managing the often hectic BlueLabs office. A DC native, she brings a special knowledge of the city to the office, keeping staff events both lively and local. Outside of the office, she can be found cooking, hosting a good game night, listening to music or spending time with her adorable baby daughter.

Bennett Bernstein

Data Scientist

Bio coming soon!

Boni Agbaniyaka

Program Manager, Government Practice

Boni graduated with a B.S. in Geographic Information Systems and a minor in Sustainabilty from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining BlueLabs, Boni worked in the Oil/Gas industry as part of a cross-functional data analytics team providing ad-hoc data analytics, application development, predictive-modeling, and data visualization to aid in company-wide pipeline replacement decisions at Washington Gas. Before this, Boni worked at AECOM Technology Corporation, on a number of FEMA contracts including the development of a foundational spatial database for a standard damage estimation application to aid in timely hurricane relief efforts. In his free time, Boni enjoys chess, jujitsu, working out and eating

Bridget Rice

Marketing & Sales Manager

Bridget is a Marketing and Sales Manager at BlueLabs. In this role, she plans and executes BlueLabs’ marketing strategy while also providing sales support to the Client Solutions Team. Prior to BlueLabs, she spent several years marketing for a large non-profit and at a law firm.

Her interests lie in understanding how people think and the ways people interact with media. This inspired her to pursue a double major in Media Studies and Psychology at the University of Virginia.



Outside of work, she can be found going for runs around the city (when D.C.’s humidity isn’t 100%) and cheering on her favorite teams (Wahoowa! Go pack go!).

Caroline Dahmen

Senior Data Analyst

Caroline is originally from Colombia. Prior to BlueLabs she completed a double major in Computer Science and English at the University of Virginia, and worked as a digital marketing analyst helping companies define and implement their digital marketing programs.
She has a passion for beautiful data visualizations, and using data and statistical analysis to make decisions and solve problems.
Outside of work you’ll find her reading fiction, playing guitar, and watching stand up. She will drop everything to discuss the merits of different coffee brewing methods.

Casey Prestipino

Contracts & Legal Manager

Casey got her start in contracts working for a small business federal contractor in El Paso, Texas. She provided contract management support for a $150B contract with the US Forest Service, Office of International Programs where she helped deploy natural resource management experts to over 80 countries in support of USAID programs. With experience in both business development and proposal management, Casey enjoys working on complex projects and being a part of diverse teams. Prior to joining BlueLabs, Casey also worked for Raytheon Technologies supporting both the Government Relations/Political Action Committee team in Arlington, Virginia and the Proposal Management Excellence team in Tucson, Arizona. Casey graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Political Science. Internships with the office of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and the U.S. Congress-Korea National Assembly Exchange Program have cultivated her passion for global issues and civic engagement. In her spare time, she is an avid traveler, passionate foodie, and a CrossFit beginner.

Cass Sun

Senior Data Analyst

Cassie Sun is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her bachelor’s
degree in political science. Prior to joining BlueLabs, Cass worked with community-based non-
profit organizations to build up their technological and data analytics infrastructure. Her work
has helped multiple non-profit organizations significantly improve their performance and data
reporting capabilities. She is skilled at facilitating discussions among a diverse group of people
and is passionate about expanding economic opportunities to underserved communities.

Outside of work, Cass enjoys reading, painting, and watching TV show reruns on Netflix. She is
also an avid Muay Thai practioner and spends a considerable portion of her free time in the gym.

Cecia Soza

Campaign Analyst

Cecia is a Campaign Analyst at BlueLabs. She came to BlueLabs as a fellow shortly after completing her Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, where she studied Government and Justice and Peace Studies. She previously worked with various political and social advocacy organizations, where she cultivated her passion for helping progressive causes and campaigns address the most important issues impacting our communities - which is exactly what she gets to do at BlueLabs! Outside of work, you’ll most likely find Cecia taking care of her many plant babies, searching for DC’s best tacos, or like the proud Miami native that she is - daydreaming about the beach.

Charles Carson

Lead Reporting Analyst

Charles Carson is a Lead Reporting Analyst at BlueLabs. Before joining the team, he was a consultant in the fields of labor statistics and data analytics in progressive politics. He worked 10 years at the U.S. Department of Labor, including 3 with Office of the Chief Economist as an analyst to the Secretary of Labor. He was on the data analytics team at Hillary for America. Personally, Charles enjoys traveling the world, sailing, and refereeing soccer.

Chris Wegrzyn

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Chris Wegrzyn is a leading practitioner in the application of analytics and big data technology to political campaigns. As a cofounder of BlueLabs, he hopes to bring this new technology to other important causes and challenging problems. From his earliest days with the Obama campaign in 2007, he began formulating a vision for the role of emerging data and analytics technologies in the campaign. As the Director of Data Architecture for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) between 2011 and 2013, he realized that vision. He brought a cutting-edge new analytics technology platform to the DNC and led the Analytics Technology team on the Obama re-election campaign. In little more than a year, his team integrated data from every corner of the campaign into a central repository; built tools to analyze, manipulate, and explore the campaign’s massive database; and developed technology to support the most sophisticated analytics operation ever assembled on a campaign.

Christine Biddlecombe

Lead Data Analyst

Christine joined BlueLabs as a Lead Data Analyst in October 2019. Prior to BlueLabs, Christine focused on affordable housing policy and programs as a public sector management consultant and nonprofit advocate. She has a Master of Science in Applied Urban Science from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Rochester. Outside of work, she enjoys beating her fiancé in fantasy football, cheering for the Caps, and chasing around her two cats, Kingston and Clemson.

Clarisse Jones

Director of Administration

Clarisse has always been fascinated by math and money - an interest that lead her to study accounting. Clarisse is originally from East Africa but has lived in the DMV for the past 14 years, where she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland. Before joining BlueLabs, Clarisse worked for a diverse portfolio of businesses, including government contractors, in public accounting, and with non-profit organizations.

Although she never envisioned herself going back to school, Clarisse recently graduated with a Masters’ degree in Finance from Southern New Hampshire University (which should be the end!). When she is not busy keeping track of other people’s money, you can find Clarisse binge-watching HGTV shows from house buying and flipping to renovating and decorating - she loves them all! Besides working and obsessing about houses, she also enjoys reading and playing board games.

Dan Porter

Co-Founder & Chief Analytics Officer

Dan is a co-founding member of BlueLabs and has led its data science team since the company’s inception. Over the past 5 years, he has overseen the team’s growth in applying data science to new industries, spearheaded the development of critical new tools and methodologies, and expanded the team’s technical capabilities to incorporate the world’s most recent cutting-edge data science innovations.

Dan’s interest is in using data science as a tool to predict, and more importantly, influence behaviors. As Director of Statistical Modeling on the 2012 Obama Campaign, his team was the first in the history of Presidential Politics to use persuasion modeling to determine the voters who were most likely to be persuaded by the campaign’s outreach. Since co-founding BlueLabs, Dan’s team has iterated on this work to influence behaviors and attitudes for applications ranging from perceptions of a Fortune 10 company, to buying products from big-box retail stores, and the uptake of key Federal Government services.

Much of Dan’s team’s recent work has focused on how different individuals can be influential on each other’s attitudes and behaviors in asymmetric ways. Dan is passionate about understanding how these key drivers of influence are critical to organizations seeking to achieve their campaign, brand, or policy goals.

Dan has a MA in Quantitative Methods from Columbia University, and a BA from Wesleyan University. He is an avid sports fan (always watching from a statistical perspective), and, sadly, enjoys optimizing his frequent flyer miles portfolio between vacations almost as much as vacation itself.

Elan Kriegel

Co-Founder

Elan thinks math is cool—not because being good at it always meant he had a date on Saturday nights, but because he believes math can help address all sorts of problems, including winning elections, distributing international food aid, reducing prison recidivism and making healthcare more effective.

Before joining BlueLabs, Elan was the Battleground States Analytics Director for Obama for America—a position he attained by delivering pizzas, reporting afternoon traffic on the 8’s, producing sports and news shows… and building statistical models for the DNC (in that order).

In 2015, Elan joined Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign as the Chief Analytics Officer. He’s also had the honor of playing NCAA Division III football at Franklin & Marshall College (150lbs!) and watching NCAA Division I football at the University of Wisconsin, where he got his BS in Mathematics and Anthropology. Elan received his MA in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University.

Erek Dyskant

Co-Founder & Vice President of Impact

Erek is co-founder and Head of the BlueLabs Civic Technology Practice. He is an expert in developing outreach programs that reach hundreds of millions of individuals with personalized, relevant, and engaging information. He also helps develop employee-centric experiences for 5000+ employer organizations, allowing them to ensure their employees are included, safe, and effective, and those experiences are able to be continually improved. Prior to co-founding BlueLabs in 2013, Erek was Analytics Technology Lead at Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee, and has worked in various global and domestic health programs.

Eric Hernandez

Government Practice Program Manager

Eric hails from the Motor City and is an engineer by training. Having garnered experience in and out of the public sector, he enjoys helping clients work through their most impactful solutions: from program implementation and monitoring to wrangling complex data sets together for consumption. He stays active outside of work: volunteering in the local D.C. area, running for leisure, and playing with his dog Tori!

Harrison Kreisberg

Vice President of Campaigns

Harrison’s obsession for counting votes began when as a 7-year old American ex-pat, a proposed referendum in Quebec threatened to tear him away from his best friend. Since then, he’s been passionate about improving people’s lives on both sides of the border through analytics, whether in politics, advocacy, or healthcare.

Harrison has been with BlueLabs since its founding and leads the company’s team of analytics strategists. A veteran of the past three Democratic presidential campaigns, he served as the Analytics and Data Director for Terry McAuliffe’s successful 2013 Virginia Gubernatorial campaign, and has worked with dozens of political and advocacy groups across the United States and internationally.

Most recently, Harrison worked on the 2017 Virginia Coordinated campaign and helped Virginia Democrats win elections across the state. Harrison also worked with the New Democratic Party of Canada to win a closely contested Provincial election in British Columbia. Harrison has also worked with some of BlueLabs’ large healthcare clients, conducting analysis and building innovative analytics tools to improve health outcomes. When he’s not counting votes or predicting healthcare outcomes, Harrison is notorious for terrible jokes, which have only increased with the birth of his twins, and injuring himself while playing hockey.

Iris Cano

Ripple Data Manager

Iris is a data manager at Bluelabs. She has a degree in Urban Studies from Yale and is a native of Baja, Mexico. Before entering the data space, Iris worked in the federal government and served with the Peace Corps in Ecuador. In her free time, Iris enjoys hosting Spanish nights at local bars, tutoring 4th graders in reading and math through Star Wars, pretending she knows what she’s doing in CrossFit class, and looking for vegan Mexican food.

Isaak Anderson

Data Analyst

Isaak joined BlueLabs in June of 2020 as a Data Analyst on the Government Practice team. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a minor in Mandarin from Georgetown University. Before joining BlueLabs, Isaak worked in the fundraising space, using data and analytics to help connect non-profits and charities with donors. In his free time, Isaak enjoys playing tennis and board games with friends.

Jack Ross

Lead DevOps Engineer, Civic Tech

Jack started programming word adventure games in the third grade using BASIC and fell in love with programming. He started his professional career as a software engineer and has over 6 years of experience before transitioning to the DevOps field where he has 4 years of experience. Jack is active in both animal rights and environmentalist movements. In his spare time he enjoys writing, playing music, running, biking, kayaking, hiking, camping, reading and all things horror.

Janani Jayesh

Marketing Fellow

Janani is a Marketing Fellow at Blue Labs, where she helps increase our online presence while helping craft the marketing strategy by studying our digital analytics. Her global background as a third culture kid from the United Arab Emirates has pushed her to embrace diversity in and around her workplace environment, and she finds meaning in work where she’s delivering insights to socially impactful projects. She is also a recent graduate from UCLA, where she majored in Political Science and International Relations. In her free time, you can catch her dancing, reading 5 different books at once (a habit she is trying to change), and creating great Spotify playlists of all genres.

Jasmine Vasandani

Senior Program Manager in Government Services

Jasmine Vasandani (she/they) is a Senior Program Manager at BlueLabs. Prior to joining BlueLabs, she was a Data Science Team Lead for a project focusing on an electronic health record system at Booz Allen Hamilton, and she worked for nonprofits and city government in New York to support small business development. Jasmine is passionate about maximizing the impact of data science through design strategy. They earned a master’s degree from Parsons School of Design Strategies.

Jasmine is of Sindhi descent, was born in the Philippines, raised in Los Angeles, and has lived in Minnesota, Seattle, India, New York, and currently resides in Washington, DC. During their free time, they enjoy working on data science side projects, being in community with QTBIPOC, and exploring the world through the arts.

Jessica Jollie

VP of Operations

Jessica is the Director of Operations at BlueLabs. She got her start working in operations on different political campaigns across the country, including the 2018 midterm elections in her home state of Arizona, and most recently on Pete Buttigieg's historic bid for President. She is energized by creating effective and efficient systems that help teams do their best work.

Jessica graduated from Yale University with a BA in Art History-- perfect for a visual learner. She is also a textbook virgo, obsessed with details, and can often be found organizing various corners of her DC apartment in her spare time.

Joel Nair

Data Analyst

Joel graduated with a B.S. in Economics and a minor in Actuarial Mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining Bluelabs, he worked at a health policy consulting firm in the DC area, where he modeled payments and outcomes using various administrative and survey data sources. His past projects have helped to develop his deep understanding of Medicare payment policy and interest in statistical programming. When Joel is not at work, you can find him rooting for his beloved 76ers, making a mess in his kitchen, or getting lost on a long run.

John Faas

Analytics Lead

John brings over a decade’s worth of experience in political data and campaigns to Blue Labs. Prior to working at Blue labs, John was the Data and Reporting Director for the DCCC in 2018, and the Southern Regional Targeting and Analytics Director in 2016. John is proud to be part of teams that over the course of two cycles at the DCCC netted a total of 46 seats and took back the majority. Prior to the DCCC, John worked as a Voterfile Manager and Data Director for the Vermont Democratic Party. Before working in political data John spent 5 years organizing voter outreach campaigns in IA, CA, and NM. John holds a M.A. in Political Science from Miami University (OH) and a B.S. in Political Science from Bradley University.

In his free time John enjoys cooking, attempting to watch all the documentaries on the various streaming apps, and stand up comedy (watching not performing).

Josh Yazman

Analytics Manager

Josh is an analytics manager with nearly a decade of experience in campaigns and data analysis. He spent five years registering and organizing voters to help turn Virginia Blue during the Obama era - early work that helped lead to a trifecta Democratic government in the commonwealth today. Prior to joining BlueLabs, he worked for Hart Research Associates and Slate Magazine while earning a Masters in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University.

At BlueLabs, Josh is a strategic advisor to a diverse set of clients spanning political campaigns, parties, and philanthropies around the world. Put simply, he helps clients find their constituents, the best ways to contact them, and the right messages to deliver to them. In 2020, he led BlueLabs' work on a tough Senate race in the Deep South. Since then, he has led major post-election analyses studying Latino voters nationally and more local election outcomes in a major Texas metroplex - approaching each project with an eye towards shaping winning electoral strategies for 2022 and beyond.

Josh lives in Waxahachie, TX where he's already turned the state at least one vote Bluer in recent cycles and is working every day to increase that tally. Outside of work, he enjoys woodworking, attempting to grow an entire breakfast of fruit in his garden, and taking his two big fluffy dogs, Lady Bird and Baloo, on long hikes in the Hill Country.

Kate Hill

Software Engineer

Kate has always loved figuring out how things work, starting from her first broken electronic translator and Commodore 64. She graduated with a degree in Genetic Engineering and had a career as a research biochemist before later moving to software development. In Kate’s spare time, she plays lots of board games, works on custom cross stitch projects, and gets way too excited about mass transit data.

Katie Steckel

Senior Data Scientist

Katie is a Sr. Data Scientist at BlueLabs. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Economics from University of Missouri - Columbia. Prior to working at BlueLabs Katie spent time working in the healthcare industry both at state government and private healthcare providers. Her work in healthcare included major projects identifying adverse health behaviors related to opioid abuse, inpatient readmission, and ER overutilization. Additionally she developed tools for actuarial completion methods and automated anomaly detection within time series data. Most recently she spent time employed as a data scientist on the presidential primary campaign for Pete Buttigieg where she helped to create support models and election night reporting applications.

When not at work Katie can usually be found in her backyard either tending her vegetable garden or taking care of her three backyard chickens - Alice, Gwendolyn, and PeeBee.

Kelly Schmitz

Campaigns Director

Kelly Schmitz comes to BlueLabs as the Campaigns Director with almost a decade of experience in progressive politics. Always a field organizer at heart, Kelly is passionate about the power that great data and analytics can give programs.
Before joining the team, she spent five years on the Client Services team at Catalist, helping large and small organizations across the progressive community utilize data and technology to run smarter programs. Prior to that, she worked on Democratic campaigns from Virginia to Alaska and in her home state of Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
In her spare time, Kelly enjoys painting, jigsaw puzzles, and hanging out with her pet turtle,
Sidney Crosby.

Laura Lubben

Senior Data Analyst

Laura Lubben (she/her) is a Senior Data Analyst at BlueLabs. Prior to joining the team, Laura worked at Uber delving into the data behind the two-sided marketplace. Laura is passionate about quantifying our impact and solving the inevitable data discrepancies that arise in the process. She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Economics and
a minor in Jewish Studies.

When Laura is not spending time with her cat Luna, she can be found playing board games, reading, baking, playing tennis, or exploring the great outdoors.

Mala Narasimhan

Senior Data Analyst

Mala is a DMV native and a UMD/Penn alum. She studied public health with a focus in infectious disease epidemiology. Prior to BlueLabs, she worked in global health (HIV) and in clinical research. She enjoys college basketball, trying new restaurants, and intellectual discussions about character development in netflix comedies. In her free time she loves planning events (and helps out with a wedding planning company), traveling, and attempting new recipes.

Max Dawson

Managing Director, BlueLabs Los Angeles

Max Dawson watched way too much TV as a kid, so much so that it came as no surprise when he earned a PhD in TV history from Northwestern University. Following a stint in academia, he embarked on a career as a media consultant in Los Angeles, advising global TV networks and studios on program development, channel branding, social media, new technologies, and youth viewers. During this time he developed EmotionalDNA™, a syndicated research platform that provided networks and studios with a viewer-centric perspective on contemporary content trends. Prior to joining BlueLabs, he led the motion picture practice for a major global research firm. There he tapped techniques originally developed by his BlueLabs colleagues on the campaign trail to help movie studios precisely target the right viewers for their films. Max lives in Topanga, California, and in his spare time he enjoys grilling, gardening, and playing with his labradoodle Coogee and his cats Buddy and Landry.

Maxine Najle

Polling Manager

Maxine is a Polling Manager at BlueLabs. She holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology, specializing in Social Psychology. Her academic research focused mainly on the psychology of religious belief and perceptions of nonreligious people. Prior to joining BlueLabs, Maxine was the Senior Research Associate and lead researcher at PRRI. In her spare time, she enjoys archery, video games, and learning new things.

Pearl Sortman

Software Engineer I

Pearl is a full stack software engineer with 3+ years experience in travel, finance, and government web applications. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Computer Science, she has had the pleasure of both living and working in Singapore and Toronto. When she's not coding, Pearl loves to travel, ride her motorcycle through the mountains, and try her hand at painting and photography!

Rhys Mallinger

Director of Strategic Accounts

Rhys Mallinger is from England and joins BlueLabs with over 10 years of nonprofit experience. He has worked with International Relief and Development Organizations as well as domestic and has an unbridled passion for helping charitable organizations further their mission. He has experience working in Europe, Canada and the US and the data privacy specifications associated with each. He volunteers with his local Meals-on-Wheels affiliate and resides in Charleston SC with his wife and two boys. In his spare time Rhys loves to watch Leicester City, playing the guitar and hanging out with his goldendoodle Fitz.

Sarah Choong

Polling Analyst

Sarah Choong is a Polling Analyst at BlueLabs. Originally from Potsdam, NY, she holds a B.A. in Political Science from Kenyon College. Prior to joining BlueLabs, Sarah worked as a Polling Associate at The Hub Project and spent time working at the U.S. State Department as a Security Assistant. She got her start in politics as a Field Organizer for the JB Pritzker for Governor Campaign in Illinois. When Sarah is not at work, she can be found gardening, playing with her dog, Bean, or relaxing with a good book and a glass of scotch

Sarah Lauffer

Senior Data Analyst

Sarah Lauffer (she/her) is a Senior Data Analyst at BlueLabs. Prior to starting at BlueLabs in 2020, Sarah was a Statistical Programmer with a policy research company where she utilized data science to evaluate Federal welfare programs. Sarah is passionate about using advanced statistical methods and data techniques to enhance our understanding of challenging societal problems and improve the effectiveness of the public sector.

Outside of the office, Sarah subscribes to the Scandinavian philosophies of fika, friluftsliv, and hygge. She can be found somewhere in the mountains of Washington State participating in a variety of outdoor activities such as climbing, cycling, backpacking, snowshoeing, and mountaineering (depending on the season).

Sarah Pavlus

Vice President of Business Development

Sarah leads BlueLabs’ Business Development team, helping organizations identify efficient data solutions to solve their challenges. She has worked with dozens of advocacy organizations, foundations, and businesses to build data-informed strategies and implement programs through predictive modeling, surveys, randomized control-trials, and digital optimization.

Prior to BlueLabs, Sarah specialized in voter activation, media strategy, and fundraising for leading mission-driven organizations, such as the DCCC, EMILY’s List, Media Matters, and a national climate action coalition.

Sarah grew up outside of Chicago, went to college in St. Louis, and hopped on her first congressional race in Iowa. If she’s not at work, she’s probably exploring DC parks with her husband and daughter.

Shannon Khalid

Polling Analyst

Shannon is a data entry specialist at BlueLabs. He graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a B.S. in Information Systems, where he made affiliations with groups such as The Communicators and UMBC Alumni Outreach Program.

Shannon has previously worked as a tax processor at Dixon Hughes Goodman and as a data processor at ADC Management Solutions, where he peaked his interest in the accumulation of data, but also noticed its faltering when attempting to apply the data to real-world applications. While Shannon’s prior experience has driven his passion for data, joining Bluelabs is the catalyst that will put his dream in motion.
Shannon currently resides in Rockville, MD and can generally be found playing video games or at the gym in his free time. Recently, he’s been picking up basketball and golf after a year-long hiatus.

Shelly Henriquez-Neill

Chief of Staff in Government Services

Shelly is passionate about connecting people to ideas, resources and strategic processes through the practice of organizational design and development. She believes in mindful leadership and a people-first approach as guiding principles toward team optimization and talent management. Before joining Blue Labs as the Chief of Staff, Government Practice, Shelly was Director of Organizational Health for a health communications company and spearheaded transformational culture, talent management and employee experience initiatives in support of stronger project teams. In her spare time, Shelly is a devoted Tai Ji Quan practitioner and instructor where she helps people achieve mind-body wellness and balance.

Shweta Chopra

Data Scientist

Shweta came to BlueLabs after completing her Masters in Social Policy andData Analytics at the University of Pennsylvania. She comes from a consulting and analytics background, having engaged in education and smart city related consulting assignments with the Indian government, back in her home country. After coming to the US, Shweta’s experience as a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the University of Washington solidified her commitment to a career that uses data to further the cause of social justice and progressive governance. This prompted her to start a Data for SocialGood chapter at Penn, as part of the Penn Data Science Group. She led a team of student volunteers as they held social good focused Datathons and supported non-profits in the criminal justice and education space with analytics services. She continues to work with her team at Penn in her free time. When she’s not doing data science, you can find Shweta exploring DC, reading, struggling at the gym or having one-sided cross-continent video calls with her dog Phoebe.

Sia Seko

Data Analyst

Sia from Tanzania is a constant data learner and practitioner with training in writing, maths, and analytics. While exploring the intersection of programming and machine learning, she has a special interest in natural language processing and how different dialects and variations in language over time will change the way we process data. Sia also believes that everyone should watch The Shawshank Redemption at least once in their lives because hope is the best human condition, and no one did it better than Red and Andy Dufresne for 2 hours and 22 minutes.

Sonja Duric

Senior Engineer II, Ripple Engineering Lead

Sonja is a software engineer with 9+ years of experience in the domains of healthcare insurance systems, cybersecurity, and most recently, personnel incident and risk management. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Computer Science and, of course, returns occasionally for a Primanti's sandwich. She has called the D.C Metro area home since she was two years old and enjoys literature, crocheting, travel, and the outdoors.

Tacuma Solomon

Software Engineer

Tacuma Solomon is bourgeoning Data Scientist with a background in Computer Science, possessing both Bachelors and Masters degrees in the subject from Howard University, concentrating in Machine Learning. His thesis work was one of the first data mining projects on Diabetes Type II patients using Howard University Inpatient Data. Enjoying both software engineering and Data Science, he’s always thinking about the ways that these two fields intersect.

In his spare time he likes to work on his Katas, and has been a practitioner of Karate for 13 years.

Tanya Nabila

Senior Data Analyst

Tanya joined BlueLabs shortly after completing her Masters in Applied Urban Science & Informatics at New York University, focusing on using data to help solve urban related issues. She came from a Computer Science background and has been involved in various data related roles at Samsung Research, from database design & management as a data engineer, to customer analytics as a data analyst, and eventually lead a research project on Automatic Speech Recognition for Bahasa Indonesia. Outside the office, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring the city with her camera and trying out culinary hotspots.

Tiwaa Bruks

Senior Data Analyst

Tiwaa grew up in Accra, Ghana and when she’s not busy lamenting the relatively cold weather of D.C. or Netflix’s rising subscription fees, she can be found pursuing her true passion: helping people do what they do, but better. Sort of like therapy, but for companies instead of people. She hates ambiguity and loves discovering trends in behavior, which is where her love for data science comes from. Prior to joining BlueLabs, she graduated with an Economics degree from Smith College and worked as a technology consultant for Cisco Systems and a QA analyst for SAIC. Somewhere along the way, she decided to find out if ‘big data’ was more than just a buzzword and enrolled in George Washington University’s Data Analytics and Visualization Certificate program. No matter the issue, Tiwaa believes more information can always help.

Tracy Del Bianco

Chief of Staff

Tracy Del Bianco is Chief of Staff at BlueLabs. She has more than a decade of experience in political and community organizing, national program development, and training focused on leadership development for diverse audiences.

An expert on change management, outreach and engagement strategies, and strategic planning, Tracy has helped lead major projects across federal and city government as well as the nonprofit and corporate sectors. She has worked with such groups as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the New York City Department of Education Office of Community Schools, and Indivisible.

Tracy got her start in organizing and management working on both of President Obama’s campaigns and former Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello’s 2010 race. She also served as Engagement Director at 270 Strategies, a Strategy and Operations consultant at Deloitte Training Director at For Our Future, and National Regional Director at Enroll America.

Tracy holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Political Science from Boston University.

Tuan Nguyen

Data Scientist

Tuan graduated from Bates College with a double major in Mathematics and Physics, before completing his masters degree in Quantum Physics at the University of Maryland. He is interested in applying useful data, algorithms and models to solve real world problems. In his free time, Tuan likes to play guitar, watch comedy shows, and play soccer at local leagues.

Vanessa Alvarado

Designer

Vanessa is a designer at BlueLabs. Before coming to BlueLabs she worked as multidisciplinary designer at a startup email marketing and software development company in Chantilly. Although she is used to wearing many hats, her greatest expertise is in the worlds of User Interfaces and improving User Experience. Outside of work, you can find her creating random dishes in her kitchen, attempting to train her German Shepherd puppy, or hiking up mountains in her home state of Virginia.

Victoria Eastman

Senior Program Manager

Victoria (she/her) is a Senior Program Manager at BlueLabs. Prior to joining the team, she managed a data science team at Ipsos finding interesting ways to integrate survey data with social media mentions, sentiment scores, financials, weather, and many other data sources to build predictive models. She has a Master's in Economics from Duke University and a Master's of Information and Data Science from UC Berkeley. In her free time, she likes baking, hiking, teaching ESL, and debating morality in economics and the future of AI.

Zachary Goldstein

Data Analyst

Zachary joined BlueLabs' Data Science team as a Data Analyst in October 2019. He previously worked in data journalism as an intern for the Center for Public Integrity and Pittsburgh’s NPR news station. He has a B.S. in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was actively involved with Students Using Data for Social Good.