Caltrans, Data Scientist (Research Data Specialist III) based in West Los Angeles, CA. 🌴
- Slack
- Teams
- Email (Please invite my DOT email to meetings!)
- Text
- Call
- GitHub
I am off every other Friday (B), and my regular hours are 8-5:30.
I'm an Enneagram Type 3 with a 2 wing.
My main after-hours hobby is mobility advocacy volunteering (public transit + active transportation) with local non-profit Streets For All. I'm also active with my local Neighborhood Council on their Transportation committee. When not in those meetings, I'm (e)-biking, walking, tweeting, or at the bouldering gym. I enjoy IRL socializing 1:1 or in small groups and would love to get together with you.
My background is in statistical analysis/research. Caltrans is my first public sector job, and my first paid experience with transportation data. Before this, I spent 4 years in academia doing health policy research at USC doing analysis for journal articles and whitepapers, and 3 years as an analyst in the private sector at an employment litigation consulting firm. I have an MS in GIS (using Esri products) and an MA in Economics.
My native programming language is SAS, and my second language is R; before this role I had exposure to Python through various workshops and grad school and am looking forward to learning more.
Understanding the object-oriented grammar of Python. Open source GIS tools and webmapping. Collaborating across a larger project team and trusting/delegating to other analysts. Understanding how responsibility for improvement is balanced across transportation departments/agencies of all types.
Delivering the reports/presentations in the rooms where decisions are made. Supporting and mentoring new analysts when the time comes.
Help you think through metrics/indicators and deriving those variables; help you brainstorm cartography viz improvements; help you with your presentations and reports.
I am a visual learner and do best with written instructions or walk-throughs at first. I prefer to maintain running written meeting notes for reference later. On projects, I appreciate having a weekly or twice-weekly check-in meeting with specific deliverable expectations from everyone (even if these deliverables are just ideas or questions), and having uninterrupted time in between. I am less likely to watch video recordings of meetings on my own, but will as needed :).
In the remote work environment, the social aspect of work is very important to me. Starting meetings with a "how are you doing" and a little small talk goes a long way!
Above all else, I'm here to be helpful. I am not shy about asking clarifying questions. Sometimes I get excited about something and might interrupt-- if this is distracting for you, please let me know!
I would rather take a little time to thoughtfully write ideas than come up with things on the fly. If the words in my sentences come out in the wrong order and something is confusing, please also let me know.
I prefer feedback verbally or in writing, and delivered 1:1 or in small groups. Please give me specific actions to take for improvement.