From DataKind
By Jake Porway
DataKind's Founder & Executive Director, Jake Porway, and Nick Hamlin, Data Scientist at GlobalGiving recently caught-up in DataKind's offices for a chat. Here's some of what they spoke about...
A little about Nick...
- Data scientist, worm farmer and lives to make social good data accessible, understandable, and actionable for everyone.
- Masters of Information and Data Science from UC Berkeley; degrees in Mechanical Engineering and History from the University of Rochester.
- Developed Pando, Root Change’s platform for exploring networks in the social sector.
- Outside the office, Nick's a folk music street performer, amateur haiku poet, and, did we mention, a worm farmer?
Jake: What inspires you to do the work you do?
Nick: I’m fortunate enough to get to support some of the most inspiring change-makers on the planet through my work at GlobalGiving, so it’s easy to get excited about coming in to work everyday. There’s also so much new technology available in the world of data science that carries vast potential for the social sector, but many nonprofit organizations have a hard time navigating the landscape because of how fast it’s growing and changing. This leads to lots of exciting opportunities for data scientists to provide thoughtful guidance and expertise to the social sector to help bridge this gap. It’s a unique skill set though, requiring tech fluency and comfort with listening to and learning from real people. Fortunately, organizations like DataKind do a phenomenal job finding folks to fill these roles!
Nicholas Hamlin is a MIDS alumnus (2016).
