THOMAS DATA CONSULTING offers data science and data visualization and storytelling expertise for insightful and actionable analysis

AREAS OF FOCUS 

advanced data analysis and analytics

Leverage data science expertise to deliver actionable insights and precise data analysis to drive informed decision-making

Data Visualization and storytelling

Craft data visualizations and dashboards that transform complex data into meaningful narratives with compelling and actionable insights

impactful research

Utilize strong data-driven economic policy research and business use case analysis background to provide comprehensive cross-sector research expertise

About the Founder

Derek Thomas – Principal – is a data analyst and policy specialist with more than a decade of experience analyzing public and private data, building data visualizations, and producing impactful research. Derek also teaches Data Visualization and Storytelling at Columbia University and Touro University.

Prior, Derek was a senior policy analyst in nonprofit think tanks. During this time, he conceptualized and led the development of an interactive website to track and visualize New York City’s federal funding. His data-based research also supported legislation requiring scrutinization of economic development spending in Connecticut, and helped secure a $30 million investment to smooth out Indiana’s child care benefit cliff.

CLIENTS


Centennial State prosperity

Collect, analyze, and visualize data related to housing affordability in Colorado. The Tableau storyboard includes state, county, zip, and state legislative-district data on change in rent and housing prices relative to income such as the income-housing gap, housing supply, rent burden, forecasted housing prices, change in commute patterns, and more.

Deliverable: Colorado’s Housing Affordability Crisis in Numbers

Leadership for Educational equity

Design, implement, and maintain automated data systems, analysis, and Tableau dashboards to track marketing KPIs. Provide general data analytics support to inform business problems related to the organization’s strategic direction and to strengthen internal operations.

The Impact Project

Analyze state-level poverty, wages, jobs, labor force, demographics, state-to-state migration, and state-based paid family leave proposals to inform TIP’s policy priorities and advocacy. Build Tableau dashboards and communicate key insights.

Deliverable: Tableau Maps and Dashboards.

CAPITAL AND MAIN

Support data analysis and build data visualizations to support investigative journalism stories related to the US economy.

Deliverable: Election 24: Change in Uninsured People Tableau Dashboard

Media: Millions more Americans lacked health insurance under Trump vs. Biden — USA Today

Media: Americans Without Health Insurance Rose by 2 Million Under Trump: Report — Newsweek

Media: Number of U.S. Residents Without Health Insurance Rose by 2 Million Under Trump, Fell by 3 Million Under Biden— Capital and Main

Private Equity Stakeholders Project

Collect and analyze large public and private datasets, and assist in development of a 50-state index for PESP’s Private Equity State Risk Index. The Index includes 16 unique measures to rank the risk to each state’s overall economy, and separately, to jobs, housing, healthcare, and pension investments.

Deliverable: Private Equity State Risk Index

Report Cited: Predatory Private Equity Practices Threaten Americans’ Health and the Economy — U.S. Congressional Joint Economic Committee

Media: A new study reveals the states where private equity has the most influence on housing, health care, jobs and pensions — NBC

The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs

Analyze New York City and State’s federal pandemic relief funding and New York City and State budgets with a focus on workforce development, human services, the nonprofit sector, and economic development spending.

Deliverable: New York City's Covid-19 Federal Relief Funding: Implications for Human Services and Workforce Development.

Media: Omicron Afflicts Already Ailing NYC Economy, Pushing Projected Jobs Recovery Back to 2025 - The City

Media: Here Is How to Track Federal Grants For New York City Nonprofits – New York Nonprofit Media


UC Berkeley Labor Center

Support data analysis of ride-share and delivery driver data across several U.S. metro areas as part of a project looking at the effect of California’s Proposition 22 on driver earnings.

Deliverable: Gig Passenger and Delivery Driver Pay in Five Metro Areas

Uber Driver WAGE Analysis

Analyze driver-level data to accompany expert testimony in a series of lawsuits in Texas that alleges Uber unfairly and insufficiently compensated drivers.

Deliverable: Expert Testimony, Driver Pay Analysis

Third sector intelligence

Conduct inventory of early childhood data systems across state agencies in Texas to support an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS), and deliver findings to the Texas Early Learning Council Data Roadmap Work Group.

Deliverable: Texas Early Childhood Integrated Data System Roadmap

NONPROFIT NEW YORK

Conduct data analysis for a New York City-focused nonprofit demographic leadership research project funded by the Robin Hood Foundation.

Deliverable: In Every County, Across All Budget Sizes: White Overrepresentation in New York City’s Nonprofit Leadership

Analyze client’s annual compensation survey of nearly 400 questions related to salary scales and benefit offerings to determine the financial position of New York City’s nonprofit sector and provide a resource for organizations to benchmark staff compensation.

Deliverable: 2022 Nonprofit Compensation Report [Salary + Benefits]

ADDItional work

Following are samples of data visualizations, research, and press during Derek’s time as a fiscal policy analyst at nonprofit think tanks in New York City, Connecticut, and Indiana.

Contact

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