About Us
This team was brought together in January 2024 by Programming and Data for Policymakers, a course at Harvard Kennedy School. Instructors Professor Druhmil Mehta and Aarushi Sahejpal tasked us with using our new skills in programming to create a useful and effective website.
With a shared background in public service and passion for democracy and representation, we decided to bring the Local Elections Database to life. Prior to this project, the Local Elections Database existed as a working paper and in spreadsheets. We wanted to create visualizations so that everyone could quickly answer the question: Just how representative is local government?
The team then built this website with tools learned in the course and with the assistance of ChatGPT, which primarily helped in writing the Javascript that powers the site.
Brandon Martinez (BRAN-dan mar-TEEN-ehz)
Brandon Martinez is the president and co-founder of Voters Choose, a nonprofit dedicated to democracy reform through youth empowerment and civic education. Through its chapter network and civic education curriculum, students learn the fundamental elements of democratic participation and policymaking in the United States so they can affect change themselves in their communities.
Brandon is a second-year student at Harvard Law School. He has worked in local government, transnational advocacy organizations, and legal nonprofits. He is interested in political economy, income inequality, and climate change policy.
Kazi Ahmed (KA-zee AH-med)
Kazi Ahmed is an MPA'25 candidate at HKS. He previously worked in public policy and higher education administration. He is originally from Bangladesh and now lives in Canada. He is interested in technology policy and governance.
View Kazi's profile on LinkedIn.
Sarah Grucza (SAR-uh GROOCH-uh)
Sarah Grucza is the Assistant Director of Communications at the Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School's home to research and teaching on democracy, antiracism, Indigenous governance, and Asia public policy. The Center's communications program is tasked with getting research and timely commentary into the hands of academics, electeds, and other experts spans public relations, multimedia creation, and digital marketing.
Sarah is currently pursuing her Mid-Career Master in Public Administration at the Kennedy School and will graduate in May 2024.
Kimihiro NAKAMURA (Kee-mee-hee-roh Nah-kah-moo-rah)
Kimihiro Nakamura is a fast-track civil service official from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, committed to applying information and telecommunication technology for the public good and is currently an MPA25 candidate at Harvard Kennedy School (2023-2025). He is interested in the cross-section of policy and technology.