Seven very distinct and diverse communities from across the United States have each received a grant from ACT NOW to re-envision safety in their communities. QSIDE has partnered with these sites to help collect, analyze, and sustain data initiatives to inform and empower lasting, meaningful changes to traditional models of policing.
ACT NOW Sites:
- Pascua Yaqui Reservation, Arizona.
- Austin, Chicago, Illinois.
- Martin County, Kentucky.
- Thanksgiving Square, Dallas, Texas.
- Nashville, Tennessee.
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Washtenaw County, Michigan.
Sites were geographically distributed across the United States, including teams in Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahomas, Tennessee, and Texas. The teams were also racially and ethnically diverse, including the Pascua Yaqui tribal community from Tucson, the majority Black and Latinx Austin neighborhood of Chicago, and Martin County, a lower-SES, rural, predominantly white community in Kentucky. But while the communities themselves were distinct racially, culturally, and geographically, many of the challenges they were facing — such as gun violence or the opioid addiction epidemic — were quite similar.
Representatives from QSIDE and ACT NOW convened for a workshop at the Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth Forum (May 20-22, 2024) to focus on the specific needs of the selected sites. QSIDE worked with community leaders from each site to provide data support and insight into each of the distinct struggles their communities were facing, and worked together to build and develop an effective response using local data. The partnership combined QSIDE’s data science expertise with ACT NOW’s experience in creating lasting change in communities, to develop more equitable safety models for these populations.
The result of this collaboration was a public dashboard highlighting 40+ indicators of community health and well-being to give insights into the unique strengths and challenges of each community.
Our Research Team!
I’m Sydney Woods, a passionate advocate for social justice and service, with a strong commitment to making a positive impact through the intersection of data science. Currently a third-year data science major at Michigan State University, I’ve been actively involved in campus initiatives that promote social change. Thrilled to continue this meaningful work, I’m dedicated to leveraging data-driven insights to address socio-economic challenges and drive sustainable progress.
Fatma Mahmoud (she/her), originally from Egypt, is currently an undergraduate student at Kenyon College, pursuing a double major in Economics and Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science. Driven by a strong desire to empower underrepresented communities, Fatma actively takes on leadership roles on campus to foster inclusivity and social change. Serving as the president of the Muslim Student Association and the vice president of the Kenyon Students for Justice in Palestine organization, she works to amplify the voices of marginalized students. Fatma’s academic passion is evident through her involvement in research projects, spanning Economics and Mathematics. Last summer, she delved into labor economics at the Chicago Booth School of Business, while in summer 2022, she explored Coding Theory at Kenyon College’s Mathematics and Statistics Department. Furthermore, Fatma was selected to present her findings from the coding theory research at the Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM) in Massachusetts in 2023. Outside of academics and leadership, Fatma enjoys spending her free time traveling, reading, and cooking.
Natalie Fieberg (she/her) is a first-year Data Analytics major at Denison University. She took a gap year before college where she worked on sustainability and environmental projects in Hawai’i. She plays club rugby and club soccer at Denison. Natalie is excited to intern with QSIDE to address social justice issues throughout the country.