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.

Senior Analyst

@AnikaDandekar

Anika (she/her/hers) is a senior 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

@khanley.bsky.social

Kevin (he/him/his) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress. Prior to DFP, he worked as a research associate at Accountable.US where his research focused on conservative legal networks. Before that, he was a research associate at Global Strategy Group. Kevin graduated from New York University in 2020 with a degree in political science.

Senior Analyst

Kirby (she/her/hers) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2021 with a degree in quantitative social science and history. In college, she worked at Dartmouth’s Digital Humanities Lab and also contributed to the Mapping Police Violence project. Kirby enjoys cooking, dog spotting, and using data to build her fantasy football team each fall.

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.

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.

Senior Climate and Energy Program Associate

@cathwfraser.bsky.social

Catherine (she/her/hers) is the Senior Climate and Energy Program Associate at Data for Progress. She supports DFP’s work to advance a progressive approach to climate policy. Catherine holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Colby College. Catherine previously lived in Texas, working at the intersection of petrochemical pollution, climate change, and environmental justice. Catherine is an avid fan of DC’s Capital Bikeshare and the Washington Spirit.

Climate and Energy Program Fellow

Eva Brungard (she/her) is the Climate and Energy Program Fellow at Data for Progress. Previously, she interned in clean energy and transportation policy, at the Zero Emission Transportation Association, Tesla, NHTSA, and most recently as an Energy Industry Analyst at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Currently, she is a Master of Public Policy student at Duke University, concentrating on energy and environmental policy. She is from Carmel, Indiana and has a bachelor’s degree in Policy Analysis from Indiana University. Outside of work, Eva enjoys working out, socializing with friends, and cheering on the Duke Blue Devils!

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, cooking, 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. She graduated from the University of North Texas in 2022 and holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. While in college she was an ambassador for several organizations and was a Student Organizer at Battleground Texas, where she registered college students to vote. Emma currently lives in Dallas and enjoys spending time with her loved ones, going on walks in the flat North Texas landscape, and making up her own lyrics to songs.

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.

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.