David Epstein Email & Phone Number

Israel

Co-authored a successful grant application for 9.87M EUR of Horizon 2020 funding as part of an international consortium of 30 universities, city agencies, and technology companies, 400K+ EUR of which will support AUTOlab over three years. Developed an event-based simulation to compare the performance and energy consumption of traditional, fixed-schedule trains on three Boston lines with a hypothetical on-demand service of small, shared, autonomous, electric vehicles. Co-authored a related academic journal article (submitted for review). Employ Python, SQL, GIS, and various APIs to produce empirically-grounded, synthetic transportation datasets (time and distance matrices, pickup, drop-off, and charging depot locations) for lab projects based on OpenStreetMap and historical travel records.

Israel

Language Heroes is an evidenced-based curriculum for teaching language through storytelling games. Conceived initially as an in-person after school activity for children, it was put on hold due to COVID-19, and remains on hold.

Israel

Developed several software prototypes that procedurally generate and then simulate communities, organizations, and goal-seeking actors using imperative and logic programming. Use cases include scenario analysis (urban planning and policy analysis) and emergent narrative (literature, entertainment, and gaming). The prototypes allow users to explore "what if" permutations or "branches" of content. This project was put on hold with the rise of generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) to better understand possible synergies.

Cambridge, Ma

Planned and managed multiyear program evaluations and independent reviews of government initiatives and supervised a small team of researchers. Conducted data collection and analysis, wrote reports, and presented before sponsors and expert panels. Projects involved the Smart City Challenge, Traffic Incident Management trainings, Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System, EconWorks Wider Economic Benefit toolset, and improving benefit-cost analysis of public-private partnerships. Co-founded and co-coordinated Volpe’s Evaluation Community of Practice.

Baltimore, Md

Managed Goldseker Foundation-funded research supporting an initiative of Mayor Rawlings-Blake and presented findings to the mayor at City Hall. Designed and implemented new methods to link housing data using Python and SQL, target a hybrid mail/online survey, and build focus groups to understand urban-suburban migration to inform both neighborhood-level decision-making and city-wide policy. Initiated the data acquisition effort for a study on housing quality and asthma-related school absences. Trained and supervised junior employees.

Gaithersburg, Md

Provided research, evaluation, and technical support services to major foundations and a World Bank affiliated program. Developed and implemented the analysis plan for the Ford Foundation’s 2013 Financial Products & Services survey and wrote the final report. Assessed the monitoring and evaluation protocol of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor's (CGAP) Technology Program, reporting on the validity of indicators, reasonableness of assumptions, and limitations imposed by data and methodology. Wrote custom GIS routines to track the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's long-term capacity-building efforts in Mississippi.

Detroit, Mi

Designed a new data visualization technique (treemap glyphs) for summarizing and comparing neighborhood characteristics. Created software to aid staff members in day-to-day investigations and presentations before residents.

Detroit, Mi

Assisted in early planning of community benefits agreements related to freight development in and around Detroit. Contributed to monthly meetings that brought together labor union representatives and environmental activists.

Ann Arbor

Designed and taught a graduate level statistics courses at the University of Michigan focused on urban issues. Covered confidence intervals, ANOVA, Chi-Square, correlation, and linear regression. Introduced both SPSS and the R programming language. Supervised a graduate student instructor/grader.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Assisted in the instruction of a graduate-level course in quantitative methods that covered interpreting multivariate regression, working with census data, measuring neighborhood change, projecting future populations, and studying regional economies. Lectured on income inequality and the Gini coefficient.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Designed and taught a graduate level statistics course at the University of Michigan focused on urban issues. Covered confidence intervals, ANOVA, Chi-Square, correlation, and linear regression. Introduced both SPSS and the R programming language. Supervised a graduate student instructor/grader.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Assisted in the instruction of a graduate-level course in quantitative methods that covered interpreting multivariate regression, working with census data, measuring neighborhood change, projecting future populations, and studying regional economies. Lectured on income inequality and the Gini coefficient.

Israel & West Bank

Designed and implemented a photographic database for analyzing multi-stop Israel/West Bank freight shipments on a project funded by USAID through the Economic Cooperation Foundation.

Tel Aviv Area, Israel

Assisted the project director to develop effective strategies for empowering Palestinian workers in Israeli industrial zones in the West Bank.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Assisted in the instruction of a graduate-level course in public economics. Conducted a weekly review of course material. Designed and corrected homework assignments. Tutored students one-on-one and in small groups during office hours. Aided in the grading of mid-term and final exams.

Israel, West Bank, And Jordan

Collected data on three urban and regional planning proposals. Interviewed stakeholders. Created a unified GIS database from disparate source layers.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Assisted in the instruction of an undergraduate course in Science Fiction. Guided discussions in two required weekly sections. Graded weekly homework assignments and two large papers. Communicated with students over email between meetings.

New York, Ny

Built a research framework linking state and city economic development programs with labor rights and environmental accountability. Identified grants, loans, and tax abatements offered to corporations in potential violation of eligibility requirements for public funds. Built coalitions of local labor and environmental activists. Supervised a team of organizers during targeted campaigns.

Usa & Canada

Responsible for all aspects of union campaigns including conducting initial research, writing communication materials, and running meetings for workers, community supporters, and union staff. Navigated National Labor Relations Board procedures, developed non-NLRB recognition strategies, prepared for strikes, and assisted with contract negotiations on English and Spanish language campaigns. Supervised between two and twenty people depending on the situation.

Chapel Hill, Nc

Built a coalition of local fire departments on a national right-to-know campaign concerning toxics in the workplace. Canvassed on multiple environmental and social issues.

Tokyo, Japan

Taught language test preparation to employees of Marubeni, Fuji Bank, and the Import-Export Bank of Japan. Supervised discussions on economics and culture.

Funabashi, Japan

Edited work of professional translators of technical documents and offered individual and group conversation classes to students of all ages.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Urban And Regional Planning

Dissertation: "Fostering Participation and Capacity Building with Neighborhood Information Systems".

Master'S Degree, Urban Planning