About
I’m a geek.
It really is that simple. I live and breathe technology — from using social networking to further social change, to analyzing click streams coming off of landing pages. While the for-profit world stumbled into this brave new world a few years ago, the nonprofits I come in contact with continue to struggle.
They build webpages and nobody comes; they put up Donate Now buttons and nobody clicks.
This website is about using data to inform decisions. From tracking constituents in a CRM and using performance data to launch a better marketing campaign; to analyzing where the people that donate via your website find you — it’s all data.
When I’m not surfing the web or reading obtuse DIY books, I’m working at Azavea.
Find Me
Background
Yeah, I’m the standard overachiever — it comes with the territory of being obsessed with data. During high school I interned in the IT department at Baldwin Hardware (they make great door locks) redeveloping their executive report dashboard driven by an AS/400 (yes, don’t remind me). After graduating from high school as valedictorian, I studied computer science and mathematics at Penn State’s honors college, got bored and proceeded to do a year long co-op with Unisys in Paoli, Pennsylvania.
Having moved to Philadelphia with no intent on going back to bumble-you-know-what Pennsylvania, I got a job at Clean Air Council working on the finances and the obligatory tech, and so began my path to social change.
I joined the crew at NPower PA in March of 2008 working on outreach to the nonprofit community in Philadelphia. I put on education seminars, led marketing efforts, and learned how to manage our Salesforce.com CRM which led to helping nonprofits do the same.
In August 2009, I accepted an opportunity with Azavea – a web-based software firm that specializes in GIS applications.
Interests
Recently, I’ve become obssessed with Google AdWords and the associated Grant program. Google Analytics falls right in that basket and rounding out the SaaS package from Google is Google Apps.
I am the administrator of our Salesforce.com instance at Azavea (Certified Administrator I might add.) I look forward to playing with page layouts and lead queues over my lunch break.
Recommended Reading
- Here Comes Everybody Clay Shirky
- Tribes Seth Godin
- The Long Tail Chris Anderson
Recommended Software / Services
- Google Analytics traffic and web analysis
- Google Adwords online advertising
- Google Apps email, collaboration
- Tableau visual data analysis
- Salesforce.com constituent relationship management
