Nonprofits collect data for a myriad of purposes: reporting to donors, improving analyses for social impact, developing better business practices, etc. However, collecting data in a way that can be securely stored, managed, analyzed, and communicated is often a challenge, given the limited resources of most mission-driven organizations. In this workshop, Data Elevates will lead participants through activities focused on key topics, such as collecting the right data for meaningful actions, utilizing the optimal formats for data collection, and developing data storage techniques to improve short and long term analysis.
Data Elevates supports social impact organizations to best use data for effective decision making, providing data literacy and skills training programs, tech strategy consultations, and digital transformation guidance.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can, valued at $12/person.
Meet the Presenters:
Prem Durairaj, MBA, MSIS
Prem Durairaj is a workforce development, program and operations expert, with a broad skill set that includes financial strategy, business development, value chain coordination, coalition building, workforce training, and program leadership over his 15+ years in the social impact sector. Over the last decade, he has led workforce training programs in data collection, analysis, and storytelling, along with business strategy and financial management. His work spans both domestic and international development sectors. He is the Head of Business Strategy & Operations at Data Elevates.
Mr. Durairaj has spent time working in international development in both office HQ roles and in field work through his time with Peace Corps in Suriname. Prem left California for Suriname in 2006, followed by stops in Boston and DC, only to return back to the sunshine of California, namely San Diego. He has an MS in Information Systems and an MBA in Operations and Nonprofit Management from Boston University, and is a Certified Tableau Desktop Specialist. Prem has a passion for value for money in development, driving cost efficiency through programs to, ultimately, do the most good.
Alexander “Xan” Paxton, MSPH
Xan Paxton is a data scientist and team leader with seven years of experience working with high-level decision makers in national governments and international non-governmental organizations to answer some of the world’s most complex and urgent public policy questions. His passion is using the latest in machine learning and data mining methods to harness the power of information to drive change in a fast-moving world. He excels in communicating complex concepts across diverse technical domains and cultural boundaries using clear narratives and data visualizations. As a project manager and team leader, he has planned and coordinated multi-million dollar portfolios of research and technical assistance in over a dozen developing countries while managing multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural teams and rapidly changing information needs. He takes pride in delivering robust, reliable, and timely insights to global leaders in the US and around the world.
Prior to joining Data Elevates, Mr. Paxton worked at the World Bank as a member of the Health Financing Global Solutions Group and at the Palladium Group as a Health Scientist. In both roles, he provided data-driven health policy advice to low and lower middle income countries around the world. Mr. Paxton has an MSPH in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an BA in Neuroscience and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University.
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