We are working to complete our profiles for the more than 500 nominees submitted during the month of February. If you’d like to add to this profile, please email us at: Contact@Data-Usa.org
David Montgomery (Minnesota)
David Montgomery is a data journalist at Minnesota Public Radio News where he tracks and visualizes COVID-19 data for MPR’s audience on a daily basis in articles, radio appearances, and on his popular Twitter feed.
David’s primary goal is to help readers interpret and contextualize the daily barrage of often-contradictory statistics, laying out what the data says, what it doesn’t say, and when it’s just too unclear to draw responsible conclusions.
If you find my #COVID19 Twitter updates helpful, I’ve got something new for you:
I’m creating a daily newsletter for @MPRnews! It comes out weekdays at midday, with my graphs & analysis of the latest data, but in email form.
“Making data understandable via radio – when you can’t actually see the charts or graphics – is pretty darn hard. David does an excellent job leading us with his updates.”
Karen Kasler manages a team of four journalists who cover the Ohio Statehouse for the state’s public radio and TV stations.
Every single member of Karen’s team was nominated more than once, a testament to her ability to not only analyze and communicate complex data regarding COVID-19, but also to build and lead a team that does data journalism right.
“The idea that I’m doing calculations and dealing with stats and data – and enjoying it – would STUN my high school math teachers,” Karen joked, noting how much work went into giving the numbers and then telling the stories behind those numbers.
She posts a data update for Ohio to her Twitter page every day at about 2 PM CT, as soon as the state’s data comes out.
“Through radio and TV stories, we’ve talked to doctors and experts about COVID deniers and nursing home staff rejecting the vaccine, to families devastated by loss and workers who can’t get unemployment benefits, and to struggling business owners and to lawmakers about public safety versus the push to “open up Ohio”.
Her stories always put data front and center, adjacent to the scientific and political voices swirling around information access and transparency.
“I’ve been tracking nursing homes for a while,” she said. “At one point, more than 70% of deaths were in those facilities. The state hasn’t made it easy because they count deaths before April 15 and after April 15 separately.”
“Since I’m a broadcast journalist, I have to make all the data simple for a listening/viewing audience. So here’s how I highlight the most important data on hospitalizations/testing/vaccines from the state’s website:”
1,235 COVID+ in hospitals, down 33 fr 1,268 Thur (4.48% of beds) 308 in ICU, down 31 fr 339 Thur; 6.48% of beds 214 on ventilators, up 1 from 213 Thur; 4.49% capacity Positivity rate 3.2%; 7-day moving avg 4% 13.46% (1,573,435) of Ohio population has had at least 1 vaccine dose
“One other thing about Ohio,” Karen added, circling back to the issues of government leaning into anti-science radicals posing as experts or even journalists.
“While our governor was initially aggressive about shutdowns, he’s gotten pushback from his fellow Republicans in the legislature – some of whom are straight-up conspiracy theorists. They’re enabled by this guy (Jack Windsor). As the pandemic started, he ran a wedding venue. He suddenly decided he was an “investigative journalist” and infiltrated the governor’s daily press conferences – much to the frustration of actual journalists.”
Karen Kasler (left), Jo Ingles (center) and Andy Chow (right) were all nominated as COVID-19 Data Heroes for their work with the Ohio Statehouse News Bureau.
A few words from those who nominated Karen and her team:
“Karen Kasler manages a team of truly talented individuals. I don’t know if she has a background in statistics or math, but she has managed to make sense of all these numbers for us. She doesn’t just throw the numbers at us like some people – she puts them in context so we understand what they mean for our lives. And she has mentored two people that could equally be considered for your award. But as the leader, you have to nominate Ms. Kasler!”
“Andy has done an exemplary job, along with colleagues Jo Ingles and Karen Kasler, providing data and analysis on the coronavirus crisis in Ohio, as well as how it affects listeners’ lives. His deep involvement with the issue has made him a trusted household name around the state.”
“Jo has continued thru her Twitter feed and on radio/television to post data and relevant news about the pandemic. I am most familiar with her Twitter postings geared toward understanding the raw data. “
“Public health is a data driven field. However if there isn’t broad understanding of the data, what it means & what it means for you, public health efforts likely won’t succeed,” Dr. Linas said.
“I use Twitter to help translate and put context to scientific data/results as I believe science communication is critical to building trust and behavior change.”
From Dr. Linas’ website:
“I am an infectious disease epidemiologist whose research interests include improving the development, evidence base, and use of digital health technologies to understand social determinants of health and improve health outcomes. I am deeply passionate about the use of data to inform public health policy, and am an active science communicator working to help scientists communicate their science. You can follow me on twitter: @bethlinas”
“I completed my post doctoral training and graduate degrees (Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), Masters of Health Science (MHS)) in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . As an undergraduate at Brandeis University (BS, BA) I studied Science Policy and Biochemistry.”
”Currently, I serve as an Epidemiologist and Lead Public Health Specialist with MITRE, working to implement health informatics and digital health products across the federal government. Previously, I was the Manager of Research and Science at the health technology company selected by the National Institutes of Health to lead the Participant Technology Systems Center for the ground breaking All of Us Research Program. From 2015-207, I served as a Science and Technology Policy fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where I supported computer science and engineering researchers to improve health with the Smart and Connected Health Program at the National Science Foundation.”
”While a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, I developed a passion for science communication and created, produced, and oversaw all production of the Sci on the Fly Podcast whose goal is the promotion of a public dialogue around science and science policy for the public by scientists.”
A few words from those who nominated Dr. Linas:
“Dr. Linas provides clear and easy to understand explanations of new papers, preprints, & regulations related to COVID19. Her passion for #SciComm comes through on her Twitter feed as does her advocacy for evidence based COVID policies. Her communications meets people where they are and help make COVID less scary and confusing.”
Dr. Gupta spends much of his day with his physician hat on, treating patients at the University of Washington Medical Center. He also wears the hats of faculty member at Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Medical Analyst for NBC News, and member of various medical, research and policy councils.
That’s a lot of hats.
So making time to do the news, to combat misinformation, and lead data-driven reporting on COVID-19 is nothing short of a miracle.
“As a critical care pulmonologist and public health researcher at IHME, I’ve tried to emphasize the best scientific evidence to keep people and their loved one’s safe while leaning into storytelling as much as possible to make what I’m saying more accessible and understandable,” he said.
“Now more than ever, people need reliable public health information rooted in the best evidence to serve as guideposts during this crisis, and I feel privileged to help serve in this capacity.”
“A pulmonary and critical care medicine physician by training, Dr. Gupta has been caring for critically COVID-19 patients since the early days of the outbreak in Seattle. He helped a cross-sectoral team stand up the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network, the nation’s first effort to scale home-testing for COVID-19. His background in public health has focused on epidemic preparedness, with relevant roles at the US CDC’s Emerging Infections Program, the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, the China CDC, and the Pentagon’s Center for Global Health Engagement. Finally, Dr. Gupta is a deployable critical care physician for the US Air Force Medical Corps Reserves, medical contributor for MSNBC and NBC News, and term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.”
The rejection of real, genuine expertise is what led us to today.
So misguided to see people like @MeghanMcCain calling for the replacement of Dr Fauci.
We should be empowering and amplifying his message to get out of this crisis and avoid any further milestones.
If you’ve watched the news at all this past year, you’ve definitely seen him before.
Dr. Peter Hotez appears almost daily on CNN or MSNBC, explaining the science behind COVID-19 epidemiology and vaccinology to the public, while also communicating with fellow scientists to highlight cutting edge findings in the pandemic.
With his signature round-rimmed glasses, bowtie, and wide smile (with dimples and a mustache to boot), Dr. Hotez makes it a point to confront disinformation and those who spread it using the data and his warming demeaner to reach as many people as he can.
Apart from the usual guest appearances on television, Dr. Hotez stretches his time to fit in data-driven analysis, editorials, podcasts, and alternative-media interviews, ensuring the data and science reach a wide range of audiences.
Not only does Dr. Hotez fight dangerous misinformation on prime-time, but he also works on the research that helped develop the vaccines, and to address issues of vaccine hesitancy.
For his efforts, like many of our nominees, Dr. Hotez has been harassed, threatened and suffered personally from the anti-science and anti-vaccine groups.
Dr. Bob Watcher, another one of our nominees who is currently hosting Andy Slavitt’s “In the Bubble” science podcast while he serves on the COVID-19 White House Task Force, recently commended Dr. Hotez for his bravery:
I really enjoyed this chat w/ @PeterHotez, who has been a model of clear – & often brave – scientific communication on Covid. We talked about that, as well as the origins of his signature bowtie. His answer to why it's been so hard to fight misinformation was surprising & sad. https://t.co/98mNdOCqm3
Dr. Hotez is a vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine who co-leads a team of scientists developing a new COVID-19 vaccine suitable for global health and now being scaled for production in India.
And when the flocks of alt-right and science-impaired do attack, Dr. Hotez is ready with a witty reply to puts the focus back where it belongs.
No it does not, and neither do COVID19 vaccines https://t.co/U3sXhgJbdv, but my sandwich does contain delicious marinated beef, cucumber, daikon radish, jalapeños, aioli, on a crusty French baguette 🥖 for $8.95, with proceeds donated to @TexasChildrenshttps://t.co/Yr4NosO3vT
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) March 1, 2021
A few public comments of support for Dr. Peter Hotez:
“Always appreciate Dr. Hotez’ talent to communicate big info w/o resorting to drama or fear. We need to be well-informed to choose accordingly, not so freaked out that we just hide!”
“I’m blessed to live in the same city as Dr. Peter Hotez. I’ve been following his research since before COVID and am glad he’s at the forefront keeping us informed.”
We are working to complete our profiles for the more than 500 nominees submitted during the month of February. If you’d like to add to this profile, please email us at: Contact@Data-Usa.org
Mary Landers (Georgia)
Mary Landers tackled some of the toughest issues to cover as a journalist during COVID-19 – issues of inequality that led to and exacerbated how minority communities were impacted, inequity in vaccine distribution, and racial and ethnic experiences and vulnerabilities.
“The pandemic has been data-driven news from the beginning,” Mary said. “Which states have cases, how many, what percent of the population is that, how many people have died. I’ve tried to make sense of this data at a local level when I can for our Savannah Morning News readers so that they can take appropriate actions to protect themselves. Data drives how we cover the pandemic.”
Parents, be aware of this rare but probably under-reported post-COVID syndrome in kids, especially Black and Latino children. https://t.co/V5D3HCoDNk
“For example, when we reached 200 COVID deaths in our county I described the demographics of those who died and profiled ten of those people,” Mary said. “Data also drives what we cover. I’ve kept an eye on issues like the settings hardest hit by COVID — prisons and nursing homes — and written local stories about outbreaks in these places.”
One of the most challenging issues Mary covered during COVID-19 related to vaccine hesitancy among Black communities in Savannah, and the dark history behind those attitudes.
A few words from those who nominated Mary:
“I believe Mary Landers is a data hero due to her diligent work towards providing the community with accurate COVID numbers. And she doesn’t stop there, she has also provided data on how Covid has disproportionately impacted black people and POC in the Savannah area. She also created data to see which zip codes were receiving the most Covid vaccines and how economically wealthier areas were receiving more shipments.”
“For the last year she has dedicated her life to providing people with Covid numbers, information, data and even helped sign people up for the vaccine herself.”
Chris Vanderveen isn’t a math guy. His spreadsheets are messy, at best. But at some point, in the late spring of 2020, he found himself trying to help people who wanted more than complicated charts and numbers.
They wanted context.
In essence, they wanted to know, “What’s it all mean?”
Chris, an investigative reporter at Denver’s KUSA-TV, turned his twitter account into a daily, one-stop shop for Coloradans interested in knowing more about what the virus was up to in the state.
There, generally around 4pm, people could get info on patient counts, case counts, positivity and deaths.
With the help of his ridiculously simple graphics (arrows drawn via mouse), Chris turned the state’s daily data dump into a way for people to watch and analyze the trends. His daily updates have turned into a daily watering hole monitored by state health officials and twitter newbies alike.
On Twitter, he’s snappy and sharp. He doesn’t tolerate nonsense, and gets a lot of flack for it. He promotes science and research, and engages in discussion with those seeking answers — while shutting down those who propagate fringe ideas. With his signature red-pen, talent for graphics and video, and propensity for facts, Chris delivers information the way it was meant to be — with honesty.
Headline: Flat. As flat as the can of root beer my ten year old left in the back seat of my car for more than a week before telling me about it. Yep. Happened.
We are working to complete our profiles for the more than 500 nominees submitted during the month of February. If you’d like to add to this profile, please email us at: Contact@Data-Usa.org
Dr. Emily Smith, who also goes by moniker “Your Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist,” is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Baylor University. Her research focuses on pediatric epidemiology and global health, particularly in developing nations.
Dr. Smith began providing a forum — both on Facebook and through her website — for her neighbors to ask (and have answered) questions about COVID-19 last March (2020).
The project quickly bloomed from its humble origins, and Dr. Smith became a celebrated science communicator across Texas, with 71,420 followers on Facebook as of March 2, 20201.
She works on the principals of “Love thy neighbor,” and makes communicating pandemic data and risks about communities. She works to reach out to faith-based organizations and open dialogues about social responsibility, from the church where her husband is a pastor to more conservative-leaning religious organizations.
Like many of our nominees, Dr. Smith endures harassment for her efforts to bring data to the public. Last August, she remarked on the shift in tone.
“At the beginning, people just said thank you and by and large were appreciative of trying to figure out what the pandemic was,” Dr. Smith said in an interview with Baptist News. “The further we’ve gotten into it, there is a significant divide on people who are posting. I have to delete or hide most of them, because that is not the battle we are facing.”
The author also captured her personable and collaborative attitude, noting “…she wants to talk to anyone who will listen in her naturally friendly tone, like talking to a really smart neighbor who just might be the nicest person you ever met.”
A few words from those who nominated Dr. Emily Smith:
“Emily Smith has made epidemiology relevant and applicable to the “average Joe/Jane” with her moniker as “your friendly local epidemiologist” in an area of Texas with many Covid deniers. She accidentally garnered a large following of people who want to learn more and of people who are simply curious. Her style is kind, yet informative, and she has filled a needed communication gap during the pandemic. Hats off to Dr. Smith for reaching out to common folk on Facebook and figuring out how to engage and act on important ideas.”
“Dr. Smith has been teaching the public about COVID-19 and related issues through posts on Facebook and her website. She has been guiding her community of followers through the pandemic with science-based information stated clearly enough for laymen to follow. She has been able to be encouraging yet realistic without fail. People have learned to depend upon her to deliver accurate information which they can use in their personal health decision making. Dr. Smith has demonstrated devotion to humankind and dedication to the field of epidemiology. The countless hours which she has spent serving the public on these forums has been without compensation. She deserves to be recognized for her exemplary work.”
“Dr. Smith has become one of my favorite resources for info about COVID-19 and the vaccines. She does a wonderful job of explaining data to non-experts in ways that are easy to understand and relatable, and always includes links to original data sources and articles. While Facebook has been her primary platform, she shares most of her posts on her website to increase accessibility. I’ve appreciate that she also sometimes speaks not only as an epidemiologist, but also as part of a religious community who has struggled with people not believing in/following the science; she has clearly addressed many myths, has endured personal criticism and threats, and has worked to support religious leaders that are seeking to serve their communities who may have opposing views. Though all of this, she has lived up to her nickname of Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist!”
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina has a Masters in Public Health and PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health where her research lab resides and where she teaches PhD, MD, and Masters students. She also has a secondary appointment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina (Texas)
If she’s learned one thing throughout this pandemic, it’s the lack of scientific “translation” to the community. Without the translation, many are left to biased reports, inaccurate descriptions of the current state of affairs, and confusion and anxiety. So, she developed a Facebook page and Instagram page to “close the communication loop” by providing a direct line from science to the community.
Her posts are 100% data-driven and backed by the most recent scientific evidence. Some of these are her own analyses, some of these are based on other brilliant scientists peer reviewed studies, and some are science-driven resources.
She has 200,000 followers on social media and 20,000 people that have subscribed to her newsletter. Her posts reach, on average, 3 million people a day. This is her service to the community, she said.
A few words from those who nominated Dr. Katelyn Jetelina:
“Dr Jetelina has provided invaluable information regarding the virus, the spread and the vaccine. I look to her for accurate and insightful information regularly. Having a good source for accurate interpretation of the data has no doubt helped me understand this virus but also helped save lives. She currently has 160,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram combined. She has a great passion for this and recently had to fight to regain control of her Facebook page after someone hacked it. Her evidenced based information is used by individuals and organizations alike to help make decisions. Please consider her as a nominee for this great award.”
“Dr. Jetelina has continued to interpret/translate the data into very understandable information. Given that I started following her Facebook page because other moms that I knew were doing the same, means that the information that she provides is scientific, has integrity and is understandable and helpful for someone like me who does not have a science background.”
“Willingness to disseminate data on Covid-19 in a way that is understandable to the public when CDC and State and Federal Government did not provide frequent local data. She had a baby during the pandemic and continued to keep followers informed as soon as possible. Her Facebook page was hacked and she created a newsletter to keep sharing information that can help the public understand how the virus has mutated and best way to stay safe. So thankful for her, her call to action and keeping the facts at the forefront when information was lacking and distorted for political reasons. “
COVID-19 Data Hero Awards 