ABOUT ME

I currently serve as a Data Science Program Director at the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, where I work on research efforts for Justice Counts. Previously, I started and directed the Resident Corrections Analyst initiative, embedding data analysts in state correctional agencies to enhance data-driven strategies.

Before joining the CSG Justice Center, I was a faculty researcher for the U.S. Navy at the Naval Postgraduate School in the Department of Defense Analysis. There, I supported homeland security and defense research through the lens of data science and taught courses on social networks analysis and data visualization to military, law enforcement, and international security professionals.

I've been lucky enough to spend most of my adult life in the central coast of California, though I am native to Mexico. My husband and I currently live in Sacramento with our opinionated cat. When we can get away, we often backpack around the Sierra Nevada.

INTERESTS

  •  Reproducible quantitative research in Python and R.
  •  Building pretty things with JS, CSS, and HTML.
  •  Open-source software (developing and using).
  •  Learning from others and sharing what I've picked up.
  •  Hiking, camping, and backpacking (usually in CA).
  •  Spicy foods that melt my mouth.
  •  Traveling to experience and learn.
  •  Riding my bike around town with those I love.

EDUCATION

MPA, 2016

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

BS in Biologogy, 2012

University of California, Santa Cruz

SKILLS

[1]

Programming Languages

Data Science

Software Development

 Front-End Development

  •  HTML and CSS (+Tailwind).
  •  JavaScript with the support of React and Next.js.
  •  NPM, Yarn, and Vite.
  •  Desing with Figma and build with component libraries (Material UI, Bootstrap).
  •  Testing in Jest.
  •  And so much more!

 Back-End Development

  •  Prefer working in Python, powered by Django and Flask.
  •  Can handle myself in Node.js + Express.js.
  •  Worked primaraly with RDBMS (MSSQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite).
  •  REST API user, documenter (Swagger), and builder (Express.js, Flask, Plumber).
  •  And so much more!

 Version Control

  •  When it comes to version control, I am all in on Git. I am less enamored with the idea of hosting my code on GitHub, though they make it all too easy. Check out my public facing profile here.

 Cloud Platforms and Deployment

  •  Mostly AWS, sometimes Google Cloud Platform, rarely Azure.
  •  Containarize with Docker.
  •  CI/CD with GitHub Actions.
  •  Working on AWS cert (slowly).

[1] Per my best, but probably not fully objective, guess.