Hi! I’m Lauren Renaud.
I’m an analyst and organizer who works to combine data and people power to fight for more just and equitable communities.
I have fierce faith in the power of organizing, in what can happen when people come together. I believe that another world is possible and that as Jane McAlevey said, “the core of organizing is raising expectations.” One of my best professional experiences was organizing the sports radio station, KNBR, in a wall-to-wall unit, during the excitement of the Giants playing in the World Series. I’m active in a local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and currently trying to get Santa Clara County to invest in alternatives instead of building a new jail.
I earned a Masters of Public Policy and Data Analytics from Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. This opened up my appreciation for R and SQL and the beauty that can be found in wrangling messy data. I was one of the founders of what is now called Students Using Data for Social Good, a cross-disciplinary group that partnered students and community organizations on data projects to support their work. I found enjoyment in making data more accessible and welcoming to more people, whether that’s communicating to a new audience, or workshops, or through building Shiny apps.
I thinks the best way to get around town is by bike, maybe bus. If you’re going further take a train — I’ve taken Amtrak across the country and it’s a great experience. I really do like long walks on the beach and taking pictures of sunsets, it doesn’t get old. You can find my code on github and see what I’m reading on storygraph.