Graphic of an open book laying flat with stars and lines eminating from it, with the text "Clarifying Literacy Rates in Detroit"

This month D3 is celebrating our 14th anniversary, and though we haven’t had any interns since the early days of the pandemic, many people have done internships at D3 over the years and have made important contributions to help D3 become the community data hub that it is today. We were curious to hear what they’ve gone on to do since their time with us, so we sent a questionnaire to as many interns as we could. Read their responses below and find out some of the impressive things they’ve done since interning with us.

Where do you work now, and what do you do?

Zach Brown: I just moved out to Seattle to start a PhD in Sociology at the University of Washington. I’ll be using quantitative methods to analyze conspiracy theories, online social networks, and political radicalization.

Lucas Munson: Right now I am getting my Master’s Degree in Urban Planning/Policy Design at Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. But in the years since D3 I….

  • Finished my degree at Cornell in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Spent one year as a Venture for America Fellow, where I worked as a data journalist covering systemic drivers of poverty and inequality in San Antonio, Texas
  • Worked for three years as a Data and Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s Center for Housing Data
  • Moved to Italy to go back to school!

Boitshoko Molefhi: I currently work at ABM University College. It is in the capital city of Botswana – Gaborone. My current job is a dual role of Research and Innovation Officer, and Programme Development Officer. Within these roles, my work entails spearheading the implementation of strategic research and innovation projects as an integral aspect of the institutional research and innovation strategic plan. Additionally, I oversee the adherence to all facets of quality assurance standards in the development of curriculum across the various university departments and faculties respectively.

Jordon Newton: Currently I’m in my third year PhD student in Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, with my research focusing on elections, Congress, and legislative politics. Prior to that, I spent three years at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan working as a researcher focused on state affairs. While at the CRC, my work was mostly oriented towards providing an objective, trustworthy, fact-based understanding of policy issues in Michigan for the general public.

Sabiha Zainulbhai: I’m a senior policy analyst at the Future of Land and Housing Program at New American. I write, convene and conduct research on ways to advance housing security in the U.S.

 

How did your internship at D3 contribute to your trajectory?

ZB: My internship at D3 let me fall back in love with data. I had a few experiences before that had soured my view on research and practical applications of data work, but spending the summer with this organization rekindled that fire and solidified my future plans, not to mention adding skills to my resume above and beyond what other undergrads had achieved.

LM: My internship at D3 was instrumental in exposing me to the art & science of supporting policy discussions with data. As the Communications Intern, I remember driving around Detroit attending meetings and public hearings with local politicians, community groups, and nonprofits. I specifically recall being so impressed by both how informed and how passionate everyone was about the future of their neighborhood, their business, or their city. That combination of knowledge + dedication struck me as incredibly powerful and stayed with me long after I’ve left Detroit. 

For example, when I was working as a Data Journalist for Folo Media in San Antonio, our small team also tried to find that balance by combining wonky pieces on concepts such as economic segregation and housing policy with interview and deep dives into the impacts of poverty on individuals and families. We found that finding that balance was essential in enabling us to reach a wide audience and to contextualize complex topics with real experiences.

BM: D3 was the beginning of my journey into policy driven development work. More importantly, D3 underscored the importance of solution driven approaches to accomplishing organizational goals – in particular, a people-centred philosophy in implementing these approaches. The resulting lesson was seeing what can be accomplished through a collaborative workplace synergy that constantly learns and adapts towards practical inclusivity.

JN: My time at D3 provided me with experience in using software that I was able to use to improve our visualizations for our research to better convey information. As for my PhD work, I’m primarily focused on improving our understanding of the ways electoral institutions influence policy and electoral outcomes. My time at D3 shaped the ways that I think about the types of data I can use in my work.

SZ: I interned at D3 while getting my graduate degree in public policy at University of Michigan. D3 was my first experience working on housing, land and other economic development issues at a local level, and also where I first learned GIS. D3 allowed me to understand the various roles that a local organization can play in advancing the use of data to better inform decision-making. And today, one of the things I work on is helping build capacity for cities and counties to access and analyze their eviction data to inform policies and programs that prevent housing instability.

 

What particular takeaways/notable memories do you have from your internship?

ZB: You never know how a project is going to change your life. While interning at D3 I was tasked with scoping out a potential longitudinal data system, the resources that it would take, the structure/framework, some current examples, and the legal protections necessary. The project never went through, but collecting this information and learning the theoretical requirements set me up for success at my job out of college: building the Kalamazoo Community Data System.

BM: I have 3 memorable experiences that I would like to broadly categorize:

  1. Intern Collaboration – D3 encouraged project collaboration among interns even though we came in through different organizations. In my case, I had the chance to work with Ivoire Morrell, a Microsoft Fellow. We implemented the CUTGroup Detroit initiative, which organized a platform through which Detroiters could test technology solutions used to access services by the public (this was defined as civic-user technology) and give feedback on their usefulness. 
  2. Workplace Immersion – As intern, I was not relegated to mundane office tasks, but I was assigned important work integral some of D3’s projects. I was even afforded the opportunity to learn ArcGIS skills during the internship. 
  3. Community – The office space was receptive to input from interns regarding how to make the office more vibrant, as well as an enabling environment to better know D3 team members.

 

Where has your work taken you?

ZB: I guess I alluded to it above, but after graduating from Michigan State I spent 3 years at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research as a Research Analyst. My primary task here was creating the Kalamazoo Community Data System, a lifecourse database of residents in the City of Kalamazoo over the last 20+ years that is/will be used to reduce intergenerational poverty in the region. This summer, I then left for Seattle, where I start classes and working as a TA next week!

LM: After leaving Texas, I worked for three years for a semi-public state agency called MHP, where I helped start up their Center for Housing Data. There, the emphasis was more on the data, but we still never strayed far from using our data to argue for policy change. For example, one of my projects, TODEX, was used to advocate for increasing the density of housing near train stations in the Boston area. Recent legislative victories to increase housing production in the area made all that data-intensive work worthwhile.

BM: My D3 internship led to two major career trajectory defining experiences: a) a work opportunity in St. Kitts and Nevis, and a graduate fellowship for my master’s degree. Following my graduation in December 2016, I relocated to St. Kitts and Nevis to work at Avalon Medical Laboratory – an opportunity Erica Raleigh shared with me following an afterwork social where I got to share my academic journey with everyone. After completing my work assignment in St. Kitts and Nevis, I relocated back to Botswana to work for a local NGO as their Programme Management Officer, bringing lessons from D3 and the Caribbean on people centred project development and implementation. In 2018, I enrolled back at Michigan State University for a Master of Public Policy (MPP), graduating in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I relocated back to Botswana upon which I received a job officer for the roles I currently hold.

What is an important change that has taken place or a lesson you’ve learned in your career?

ZB: One lesson I’ve learned is that life knows how to throw a Verlander-in-his-prime type of curveball. After working at Upjohn for more than a year, the backend server that we saved my entire project on had a mechanical failure and nearly all of my effort up to that point was lost. Part of you definitely feels like crawling under a blanket and giving up at that point, but the circumstances actually enabled me to go back taking the lessons I had learned through that point and build a better automated data structure than the duct tape and glue version up until then. You just need to take a deep breath every now and then.

BM: The greatest lesson I have learned thus far is that “your village will find you”. As a freshman coming to Michigan State University, the outlook I had for my career was so much different from how everything turned out. Each door opened led to paths that led me to accomplishing so many things and meeting the most amazing people ever. Every professional interaction prepared me for the next, and I am grateful for everyone who has become part of my larger village. A brief conversation with a philosophy professor convinced me to choose a dual degree track integrating Public Policy as my second major. The addition required an internship, and that requirement led me to D3, and D3 inspired me to follow a policy driven career, and 6 years later, I am where I am supposed to be. So yeah, I don’t stress about being at the right place at the right time, I believe the right circumstances will always materialize when the time is right.

JN: I think the biggest change that has occurred in my time working as a researcher is the way that facts have been warped and weaponized. In my time at the CRC, we consistently heard from stakeholders and members of the public about the difficulty they had finding quality and trustworthy information about state policies. Between misinformation, biased reporting, and just a lack of accessible data, there is a lot of mistrust and unease about many available sources of information. I think the type of work I did with both D3 and the CRC emphasize the important nature of those organizations. Having reliable sources of data and trustworthy organizations to provide information is necessary to maintain trust in government and check those institutions when needed. I thought the ballot initiative analyses we did while I was at the CRC were a particularly good example of the synthesizing of information in a way that helped voters make informed decisions without introducing bias or pushing an agenda on voters.

 

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

ZB: The easy answer is getting into my preferred PhD program. Maybe the more real answer is just continuing to make my friends and family proud with the work that I’ve accomplished along the way.

BM: Accomplishments I am most proud of in my experience is the development of university’s research and innovation strategy, its current roll-out. Most importantly, the relationships that I have fostered throughout the years that continue to bring out the best of the work I do, whether through partnerships or personal mentorship. Whether through direct interaction or osmosis, all those I have made contact with continue to make me better.

We love to welcome student interns into our workplace. D3 values equity and fair wages so we do not offer unpaid internships and will only consider those projects from students who have identified their own source of funding. We partner with programs of universities and other institutions, so check with your career center to see if there are funding opportunities available.

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