Five are women, three are local Chicagoans and three work with communities abroad. The eight fellows total work at various types of organizations including nonprofits, NGOs, local governments, and social enterprises. Their technical skillsets vary as much as the sectors that they work in, from education to health to environment and agriculture.
The select group were chosen from an impressive pool of over 130 applications from 23 countries. It includes the following individuals:
Deepali Gohil
Impact Catalyst
Northern Rangelands Trust
Elizabeth Gagne
Research Analyst
New York City Department of Education
Joanna Tess
Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
Coordination of Healthcare for Complex Kids
Kosar Jahani
Director of Impact
Samasource
Kruti Doshi
Programmer Analyst
Cook County Health & Hospitals System
Matt Niksch
Chief College Officer
Noble Network of Charter Schools
Matt Stevens
Director of Data Science
Benefits Data Trust
Peter Alele
Africa Field Director
Vital Signs
Created only nine months ago, the six-month Fellowship program connects aspiring data leaders who are tackling some of the most pressing issues in the social sector with Uptake data scientists, engineers, and strategy mentors. The fellows identify projects and skill gaps within their organizations to work on with their mentors. In turn, Uptake mentors and the Uptake.org team provide guidance, resources and methodologies to help progress the fellows’ projects and accelerate their learning.
Some intended projects from the new cohort include:
- Developing a system to monitor livestock movement patterns in Kenya
- Analyzing effects and impacts of public school teacher preparedness in New York City
- Creating models to maximize effectiveness of workforce and employment services for populations in Kenya, Uganda and India
- In August, Uptake will welcome the group for a week-long workshop in Chicago to kick off the Fellowship. Beyond that, mentors will meet with fellows on a weekly basis throughout the six-month term to provide insights, resources and direction on the fellows’ projects. The Fellowship will conclude in February 2018 with a project showcase in Chicago.
Interested in learning more about Uptake’s philanthropic and social impact efforts? Visit Uptake.org.