Hi I’m Paul Dingus 
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I’m an engineer and data scientist turned policy wonk. I’ve worked in batteries, solar energy, and politics. Most recently, I’ve been bringing more tech talent to the civic space through Bluebonnet Data, and studying at the Harvard Kennedy School. I’m currently working at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability developing the Marketplace Activity Index.
I’m interested in building research-to-policy pipelines, particularly in areas that concern economics, AI, sustainability, and energy.
Using satellite data and image modeling to bring the Market Activity Index project to fruition. We are building a set of automated tools to autonomously locate and track weekly activity at open-air markets around the world. We will publish this data as a public good, providing precious economic information for towns and villages across the world's developing country.
At HKS, I focused on bridging the gap between data science and policy action. I studied analytical methods, finance, and economics. I took courses in urban economics, energy and environmental economics, public finance, macroeconomics, and market failures. For my thesis, I worked with Transport for London, proposing a flood cost modeling system for the London Underground to underpin climate adaptation investment.
I spend the summer of 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa advising the Mayor and his team on data-driven strategy, with a particular focus on increasing the efficiency of municipal water delivery. I worked across several city departments, collecting and merging data that pertained to the water system, assembling analyses and reports, and (most importantly) assembling a supportive coalition to enable action.
What out as a group of political data nerds volunteering for handful progressive campaigns is now a national nonprofit with a mission to democratize data. We recruit, train, and organize people with technical skill sets to volunteer on data analyst teams for progressive campaigns and causes. I co-founded Bluebonnet, stepping in as Bluebonnet's Technical Director and employee number two in 2018, growing the organization from a dozen volunteer teams to more than 300 over the course of a year. I led the creation of Bluebonnet's technical infrastructure, training programs, knowledge management systems, and all internal programs and resources. Building an organization like Bluebonnet was the experience of a lifetime, and taught me more than I could have imagined about organizational management, political and demographic data work, and entrepreneurship. I am still involved as a volunteer and board member.