CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

Carol Miller

Data Dissemination Specialist

U.S. Census Bureau

Miller has worked with the U.S. Census Bureau since 2008, serving in two decennial operations and the Denver Regional Office. She joined Data Dissemination in 2014 and has conducted events, presentations, and trainings that assist users in accessing Census Bureau data products for decision making, planning, grant writing, and business development.

Josie Gatti Schafer, Ph.D.

Director

UNO Center for Public Affairs Research

Schafer joined the University of Nebraska at Omaha as the Director of the Center for Public Affairs Research in 2018. She joined the Center for Public Affairs Research because of its strong history and positioning as the go-to source for expert data and analysis to inform state and local policy and public and non-profit management in Nebraska. Recent projects lead by Schafer include the Entrepreneurship in Nebraska report, data and analysis for the UNO Workforce Development Taskforce, the Nebraska Community Foundation Youth Survey, policy analyses for the Planning Committee of the Nebraska State Legislature, and serves as principal investigator of the Nebraska Rural Transit Project for UNO.

Jeff Armitage

Epidemiology Surveillance Coordinator

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Armitage's more than 20-year career at DHHS has focused on epidemiology, health surveillance, health planning and evaluation, data management, and health informatics. Currently, he serves as lead for Nebraska Public Health Atlas, the new data visualization platform within the Division of Public Health. Jeff also oversees the Nebraska Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an adult telephone health survey administered each year in the state.

Shonna Dorsey, M.S.

Executive Director

Nebraska Tech Collaborative

Dorsey is an Omaha native who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Management Information Systems from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her career includes roles as a startup co-founder, nonprofit VP, business analyst, project manager, consultant, help desk representative, and IT intern. Shonna has earned awards including: Excellence in Community Service (National Daughters of the American Revolution), Changemaker (Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals), Women in Technology (InformationWeek), Ten Outstanding Young Omahans (Omaha Jaycees), Tech Community Builder of the Year (AIM Institute) and 40 Under 40 (Midlands Business Journal).

Bryce Jones, M.A.

EDA Data Analyst, Rural Opportunity Office

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

Jones received his masters of economics from the University of Denver. Originally from Idaho, Jones knew that he wanted to eventually work in the public sector, specifically under the direction of the state or federal government, and found courses in econometrics, advanced microeconomics, growth technology and economic policy complementary to his long-term professional goals. As a data analyst with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Jones travels to rural areas of Colorado to meet with regional teams and also engages with residents as he collects and analyzes demographic, socio-economic and business development trends across Colorado’s 54 rural counties. He then transforms this data into critical information used to make larger structural decisions about how to allocate funding and other government resources to these communities.

Cassandra "Cass" Dorius, Ph.D.

Co-Director

Iowa's Integrated Data System for Decision-Making (I2D2)

Dorius is an associate professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on translating scholarship into practice through a broad range of state and national collaborations centered on data quality, community outreach, and evidence-based policy-making. Dorius is a founding co-director of the Public Science Collaborative, Iowa’s Integrated Data System for Decision-Making (I2D2), and Iowa State’s Data Science for the Public Good program. Across these efforts, she works with leaders from local, state, and federal agencies to advance policies that improve the lives of vulnerable children and their families.

Allison Shafer

Supervisory Geographer

Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Shafer is a supervisory geographer in the Statistical Areas and Boundaries Branch in the Geography Division at the U.S. Census Bureau. She has experience in both the corporate world and government sector and has spent the last seven years of her career in the Geography Division working on many facets of the division’s work. This includes supporting and leading geographic partnership programs including outreach and production; contributing to the Geospatial Frames team; and most recently, leading a team producing and maintaining the Census Bureau’s statistical areas and boundaries and managing geospatial metadata compliance efforts. She is passionate about the accuracy, availability, and openness of data. She holds a Master of Science in Data Science and a Bachelor of Science in Geography/GIS with a minor in Anthropology.

Camellia 'Cammy' Watkins

Executive Director

Inclusive Communities

Watkins is an Omaha native who graduated from Omaha South High School. She received a B.A. from Cornell College in Psychology and Vocal Performance. Watkins has 15 years of experience working with not-for-profit organizations ranging from environmental activism to performing arts administration. The opportunity to work with many different facets of the not-for-profit world have provided her with vast insights into the business needs of organizations. In her role as executive director at Inclusive Communities she utilizes her passions for promoting social justice, community building, and organizational development to facilitate dialogues within the business community around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Monica Miles-Steffens

Assistant Director

UNO Juvenile Justice Institute

Miles-Steffens is the assistant director at the Juvenile Justice Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has over 20 years of experience in juvenile justice direct service, non-profit and government positions. She has worked extensively with grants, community planning, training, and program implementation. She has worked at the local, state, and national level to develop policy, training, and services for juvenile justice programs and reform efforts. She has served on numerous state juvenile justice committees and is a Leadership Lincoln Alumni. She is a trained mediator and restorative justice facilitator. She has a passion for helping individuals and organizations realize their full leadership potential.

Carrie Malek-Madani

Director of Marketing and Communications

Nebraska Community Foundation

Malek-Madani joined Nebraska Community Foundation in February 2017. She is responsible for developing and implementing NCF’s communications and marketing goals and strategies to build awareness and support for NCF and its affiliated funds. She creates and oversees the production of NCF’s publications, advertising, social media and video production. She also assists NCF’s affiliated funds located across the state with press releases, donor stories, fundraising letters and other marketing tools. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication: media management, and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism & Mass Communications in integrated media communications. She is a member of the National Communication Honors Society, Lambda Pi Eta.

Cristián Doña-Reveco, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Sociology

UNO Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Director

UNO Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS)

Doña-Reveco holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and History and an M.A. in Sociology from Michigan State University, an M.A. in Political Sciences with a concentration in International Relations from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Universidad de Chile. He is currently associate professor of Sociology and director of the Office for Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His research interests are on migration decisions and migration policy in the Southern Cone of America (Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay). At OLLAS, he uses life stories to analyze the life experiences and opportunities of Latina head of households in Omaha. He is also studying the perceptions and representations of Latino/a immigrants in Nebraska newspapers and the attitudes toward immigrants in this state. He has published book chapters and articles on international migration, exile, and memory among other themes. He teaches courses on international migration and on Latin American Sociology.