Graham MacDonald is a data scientist and the senior manager for data technology and innovation at the Urban Institute, where he works with researchers to improve access to data, analytics tools, and innovative research methods. MacDonald uses and advises on such tools as machine learning, natural language processing, web scraping, big data platforms, and data visualization techniques and their application to relevant public policy issues.

Before starting his current role, MacDonald worked for the Terner Center for Housing Innovation, the San Francisco Planning Department, and the California Housing Partnership Corporation, where he used innovative data collection, machine learning, data linking, and microsimulation techniques to solve problems. Before that, he was a research associate in the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center and was the lead data visualization developer for interactive digital communications projects.

MacDonald holds a BA in economics from Vanderbilt University and earned an MPP from the University of California, Berkeley.

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