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
Andy Flach (Arizona)
“I have always loved spreadsheets and tracking data in order to gain insights into complicated phenomena, so when the pandemic started I began transcribing and charting Arizona Department of Health Services Covid-19 data in order to get a better sense of the progression of the pandemic in Arizona, and to keep a record of the data and how it changed over time (the ADHS data dashboard doesn’t have an option to download data). Then I started sharing my charts, and a link to a Google Sheet with the data, on the Tucson Coronavirus Facebook group and on Twitter, figuring as long as I was doing this work for my own curiosity I might as well share it in case anyone else was interested. My overall goal in all this has been to really “see” the pandemic and try and get a sense of how it works.”
Dr. Theresa Chapple has dedicated the last 13 months to combating misinformation about COVID-19, building her science communication skills to teach the public about Covid-19 prevention approaches, and advocating for data-driven public policy to address the pandemic.
Since June, she’s worked with 27 school districts across the country to aid in Covid-19 data and research interpretation, setting data related metrics for reopening and closings, and identifying and training on risk mitigation approaches.
She has also utilized platforms such as social media and traditional media to share public health prevention messages and translate research into language understandable by the masses.
Her thought-provoking and thoroughly researched messages on school reopening challenged narratives being pushed by economists who intentionally misled the public about the risks associated with in-person learning during the pandemic.
She breaks the data down, offers analysis and context, and is one of the most responsive experts for COVID-19 information on Twitter.
“There’s a reason Dr. Chapple put this [COVID-19 outbreaks in schools and childcare settings] exhaustingly long list together, and why it’s still growing,” Karen Johnson wrote in Yahoo! News last August. “She wants us to realize and truly understand that this is what happens when people gather in groups. When adults gather in groups. When teens gather in groups. And when children gather in groups. Camps, daycare centers, and how it will be schools.”
A few words from those who nominated Dr. Chapple:
“Dr. Chapple may be the most courageous woman I’ve encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. She unabashedly challenges misinformation in a confident and assertive way that doesn’t come off as talking down to people.”
“When a lot of junk science about schools came out from people with no subject-matter expertise, Dr. Chapple confronted them with the realities of what the real science and data showed, and by doing so likely saved many lives.”
If the true measure of a person’s character can be derived from how they treat their inferiors, then Dr. Anne Zink would score aces.
Dr. Anne Zink (Alaska)
Members of her team have publicly praised her expertise, humility, and empathy.
“She encourages Alaskans to take care of each other, and to check in on neighbors who may need a helping hand,” wrote Sarah Erkmann Ward, an Anchorage communications consultant who worked with Dr. Zink during the crisis.
“She is the right person at the right moment that we never knew existed,” Erkmann told Alaska Public Radio.
Dr. Zink is the Chief Medical Officer for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, and she began her regular updates on COVID-19 long before the virus reached her state.
“I want to make sure you have the latest information at your fingertips,” Dr. Zink wrote in her monthly newsletter in February 2020.
“Dr. Anne Zink from Alaska is a total badass and has been keeping us up to date with accurate data since early March 2020”
“Using a data driven approach, she has wonderfully informed Alaskans about how actions have consequences in the covid crisis (both positive and negative) She has a great humility, but is so deserving of awards! “
Eizabeth Shulok started tracking COVID-19 in California in May 2020.
Elizabeth Shulok (California)
Using her expertise as a data scientist, she built her own website to track, analyze and visualize data in San Diego County.
“The data tells the story; I just paint the picture,” said Shulok.
Elizabeth works with the press to produce accurate data visualizations, including a recent project to map the CDC schools guidance by zip code in her state.
Elizabeth wrestled with the pushback she received when she started reporting on cases in K-12 schools, finding that many in San Diego county (and online) would harass, threaten and berate experts who cautioned about what was known and what was speculation about kids, teachers and school staff.
“The violence coming from some of the pandemic deniers has made me hesitant to post openly about COVID-19,” Elizabeth said.
Despite the risk, Elizabeth pressed on, continued to track and report cases (including cases in schools), and challenged early misconceptions and lack of transparency in her area.
“I wasn’t convinced we knew enough about the role children play in the pandemic so I decided to see what the data shows,” said Shulok. “The county provides data on COVID-19, but doesn’t display it in a way to see how transmission varies by age group over time. So I created my own charts to try to get a better picture of what is happening with kids in San Diego County and ended up expanding from there.”
Elizabeth feared for her own safety at times, even going so far as to remove her name from her projects. But seeing activists using her data confront the anti-science crowd online and in the news encouraged her.
“It has shifted my perspective. And seeing them go on air, doing interviews to counter the Reopen Now group’s narrative, and getting bashed online, puts my work into perspective. What I’m doing is fairly neutral and less controversial,” she said.
Elizabeth provides all of the data free to the public with complete transparency of where it comes from, which is almost entirely primary sources.
A few comments from those who nominated Elizabeth:
“Her data analysis has provided insights and views that have illuminated areas of concern, highlighted gaps in tracking and brought into question policies in place.”
“As a concerned parent and data scientist, Liz used her skills to compile an amazing data dashboard, coding to periodically scrape data from publicly available sources in an easy-to-use, centralized format to help better under the role of schools in the coronavirus pandemic. Since we know that asymptomatic spread and a lack of testing are leading to serious undercounts, Liz’s dashboard provides a critical lower bound of confirmed, official cases and other data points that allow for better policy decisions knowing it is the tip of the iceberg.”
Misty Orpin launched her Arkansas Covid tracking site in March 2020 to make the Arkansas Department of Health’s Covid-19 data more accessible and transparent to its people.
Misty Oprin (Arkansas)
A novice to the complexities of epidemiology, Orpin focused on visualization, geographic specificity, and active Q&A with Arkansans on Twitter and via email.
The organization evolved into a watchdog role, attending press conferences and striving for clarity from the Arkansas Department of Health and the Governor.
Orpin partnered with the University of Arkansas to bring on an intern to assist with demographic information, and eventually turned the project over to the University of Arkansas’ Department of Journalism after six months of 12-hour days bringing the latest data and updates to Arkansas.
The project is now student-run and continues to provide daily updates and in-depth news stories on the impacts of Covid in Arkansas.
A few words from those who nominated Misty:
“Misty Oprin began the @ArkansasCovid project and was invaluable to me the first several months to make sense if Arkansas covid data!”
Dr. Ellen Eaton is an Infectious Diseases Physician with a Masters in Public Health at the University of Alabama.
Dr. Ellen Eaton (Alabama)
In March 2020, Dr. Eaton began a Facebook page, “Dr. Ellen Eaton Coronavirus Updates,” to combat misinformation she noticed was being shared by friends and family on social media.
“I knew that Alabama would be disproportionately affected by COVID due to low public health access, literacy, and other social determinants of health,” said Dr. Eaton.
“So, I committed my free time to improving public health through data-driven COVID messaging initially targeted to friends, family, friends of friends in the Deep South.”
Dr. Eaton now has more than 12,800 followers on Facebook, 32,497 weekly reaches, and 25,313 weekly engagements with viewers from across the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Syria, and India, she said.
“The most important aspect of my page is clear, consistent, evidence-based clinical and policy updates tailored to a lay audience with little to no medical background (like my hometown of Dothan, Alabama).”
A few comments from those who nominated Dr. Eaton:
“Dr. Eaton has done an exceptional job keeping people updated and informed about COVID-19, and sorting through all the misinformation online. Her posts have been one of the only sources I’ve trusted throughout this pandemic. (And she’s also treating patients at UAB!) She’s a data hero and a healthcare hero too!”
COVID-19 Data Hero Awards 