Building data tools and technology infrastructure for researchers, journalists, government, and civil society.

Based in Takoma Park, MD

AI & Data Science Editor, The Outlaw Ocean Project/Founder & Developer, Digital Harms Tracker

I’m a social scientist, technologist, and builder. For twenty years I’ve been working with researchers, journalists, governments, and civil society organizations on hard problems: conflict, global health, ocean crime, global development.

I believe technology infrastructure matters. The tools researchers, advocates, and governments use shape what’s visible, what gets acted on, and what doesn’t. My work sits where that infrastructure meets the people who need it: policy staff, diplomats, investigative journalists, humanitarian responders, community health workers, civil society researchers.

Current focus: leading data science and AI at The Outlaw Ocean Project, building the Digital Harms Tracker, public-interest infrastructure linking platform harm evidence to the policy and legal response, and advising U.S. government agencies on data science and technology.

Current Work

Digital Harms Tracker

Founder · Developer · Data Engineer

Building open infrastructure that links digital harm incidents to policy and regulatory responses. Designed for researchers, journalists, and advocates working on platform accountability.

digitalharmstracker.org

The Outlaw Ocean Project

AI & Data Science Editor

Leading the application of data science and AI in investigative journalism at The Outlaw Ocean Project. Current focus includes Bait to Plate, one of the largest seafood supply chain accountability databases in development, tracking labor abuse and illegal fishing across global fishing fleets.

theoutlawocean.comBait to Plate — pending publication, summer 2026

Technical & Advisory Work

Independent

Data science, analytics, and advisory work for government and nonprofit clients. AI strategy, data infrastructure, applied analytics, and responsible technology deployment.

Select Experience

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Data and Technology Advisor, Office of Technical AssistanceActive

Advisory support to the Department and international counterparts on data science and data engineering tools and methods.

Exchange.Design

Co-founder & CTO

Supported mission-driven organizations in adopting AI and data science tools and methods. Departed early 2026.

UN Foundation / Data2X

Data Science Advisor

Advisory on data strategy and applied analytics for gender data initiatives across global development programs.

DAI Global

Associate Director, Data Science & Digital Products

Led data science and analytics teams delivering platforms and decision-support tools across international development programs.

U.S. Department of State

Conflict Data Analyst

Integrated data analysis and geospatial methods into conflict prevention and stabilization policy work.

Selected Projects

Digital Harms Tracker

Active

Founder, engineer, and primary researcher behind a structured database linking digital harm incidents to policy responses. Public interest AI infrastructure.

digitalharmstracker.org

Bait to Plate

Active

Lead data scientist and data engineer for one of the largest seafood supply chain accountability databases in development, built at The Outlaw Ocean Project. Links fishing vessels, labor records, and catch data to trace accountability from ocean to consumer.

USAID Digital Frontiers

Completed

Served as Associate Director, Data Science and Digital Products at DAI, the implementing partner for USAID's flagship $90M digital development program. Led data science strategy and digital product delivery across a program working with 35+ USAID Missions worldwide on responsible technology adoption.

EvidenceBase.ai

Sunset

Lead engineer and product manager for a personalized copilot tool built for non-profits to surface and synthesize evidence for program design and decision-making. Used by over 50 organizations. Open source project, sunset in 2025.

FEWS NET Health Threat Extension Support

Completed

Project manager and data scientist for ML-powered subnational disease forecasts for Mozambique and Somalia, built for USAID. Extended FEWS NET food security monitoring to include health threat modeling at the subnational level.

AI-Powered Conflict Dataset Builder

Archived

Proof of concept using NLP to build structured datasets from conflict news coverage.

Spa Creek Water Testing Platform

Completed

Civic tech for Spa Creek Conservancy, in partnership with Anne Arundel Community College. Weekly water quality tracking for Annapolis waterways. Volunteer project.

Technical

LanguagesPython · R · SQL · JavaScript

AI & NLPLLMs · NLP · text analysis · TF-IDF to transformers

GeospatialGIS · ArcGIS · QGIS · geospatial analytics

Data & Infradata engineering · statistical modeling · Power BI · Azure ML · Neo4j

Statisticsregression · sampling · causal inference · program evaluation

Methodssurvey design · network analysis · spatial statistics

Speaking

Panelist
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Peacebuilding
PeaceCon 2024, George Mason University
Speaker
Retrieval Augmented Generation and Conflict Data
AI for Peace Conference, Google New York, 2023
Panelist
Accelerating Progress Towards Africa's Agenda 2063 and the SDGs Using Gender Statistics
Joint Africa Conference on Gender Statistics, Casablanca, 2023
Moderator
Toward Ethical Artificial Intelligence in International Development
ICT4D, 2022
Moderator
Understanding Algorithmic Bias
Law Justice and Development Week, The World Bank, 2021
Panelist
Open Mapping and Data in Disaster Response
FedGeo Day, 2019
Opening Speaker
Data Science in 20-minutes or Less
MerlTech, 2018

Teaching

Guest lecturer and course instructor at Johns Hopkins SAIS, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, including early online course development on Moodle when that was still a frontier.

U.S. Department of State

Learning and Training Specialist

Designed and taught multiple courses in monitoring and evaluation and conflict analysis.

U.S. Institute of Peace

Education and Training Center

Courses in international negotiation and conflict resolution.

TechChange courses

TC141: Mapping for Social Good (2012, 2013, 2015)
TC104: Technology for Humanitarian Assistance (2012)

Education

University of Denver

MA, International Studies: International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, International Political Theory

Graduate Researcher, Pardee Center for International Futures. Research with the International Futures (IFs) integrated assessment model.
Graduate Researcher, Global Health Affairs Program. Mobile survey design for global health data collection.
Coordinator, TechWeek@Korbel. Convened international experts on remote sensing, mobile technology, and digital tools in development.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland

BA, Policy, Ethics & Conflict (self-designed major)

Senior thesis on international diplomatic efforts in conflict resolution.

George Mason University

Coursework in mediation and conflict management systems, Northern Virginia Mediation Service

Contact

Takoma Park, MD

@gmaly.bsky.social