Experience

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  University of Illinois Foundation

  • Chicago, Illinois, United States

  • Manager, Research & Portfolio Management

    • Mar 2024 - Present
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States

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  Precision Development (PxD)

  • Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

  • Research & Operations Manager

    • Apr 2021 - May 2023
    • Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Lead a $2M randomized controlled trial (RCT) which measures the impact of a mobile-based advisory service, Ama Krushi, on 14,000 rice farmers in Odisha, India Title: “Evaluating the Impact of a Digital Agriculture Advisory Program in India”:• Lead key RCT activities, including data collection execution (baseline, midline, and endline surveys), finalizing the research design, managing stakeholder relations, budgeting, contracting, and managing and developing research associates• Led the design, planning, and implementation of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) over two seasons to obtain ground-truth rice yield measures to validate/calibrate the study’s remote sensing yield measurement model• Developed a systemized approach to improving Ama Krushi advisory content to increase farmer adoption of recommendations• Conducted an A/B test that measured the effectiveness of sending farmers SMS messages with recommended fertilizer amounts customized to their rice plot’s total area• Lead the execution of a pilot study in which Karnataka-based coffee farmers receive customized weather forecast alerts via WhatsApp• Spearheaded quarterly meetings with the global technology team to help manage its KPIs and assess its recent wins and challenges

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  Babban Gona

  • Nigeria
  • Food and Beverage Manufacturing
  • 500 - 600 Employee

  • Manager, Data Science & Analytics

    • Jun 2020 - Nov 2020

    Managed the Data Analytics team in implementing the following two Python-based tools I created:• A time-series based ARIMA model in Python to forecast the average maize price ($/kg) in Nigeria in future months • A machine learning-based risk assessment tool in Python using a ‘random forest’ algorithm to predict farmers' creditworthiness using psychometric survey responses• Led the field team in administering a psychometric survey I designed to 6,000+ farmers to collect data on farmer credit riskBabban Gona ('Great Farm' in Hausa) is an award-winning, high impact, highly scalable social enterprise in Nigeria, partly owned by the smallholder farmers it serves. Babban Gona contributes to creating a secure future for Nigeria's youth by transforming agriculture into a job-creation engine, helping break the cycles of poverty and unemployment. BG offers a suite of four core services to smallholder farmers: training and development, financial credit, agricultural inputs, and harvest & marketing support. These services increase economies of scale in the agricultural sector, combat growing food insecurity, and decrease youth unemployment in Nigeria.

  • Graduate Consultant

    • Nov 2019 - May 2020

    Awarded the Isaac Anderson Rauch Award for Excellence in a Capstone Project, given to "the student team that has produced the best overall Capstone workshop project. The winning team is selected on the basis of analytical rigor, quality of final deliverables, and the potential impact of the project." • Created a risk assessment tool in Python using a 'random forest' machine learning algorithm built to evaluate prospective farmers' potential creditworthiness; wrote an extensive step-by-step documentation guide on how to use the tool• Conducted a thorough data analysis and evaluation of Babban Gona's current risk assessment procedure for evaluating farmers in their credit program• Developed a psychometric survey for Babban Gona to administer to prospective farmers for their program; survey informed by a literature review on psychometric testing in the agricultural sector• Authored a report titled "Improving Farmer Selection for the Babban Gona Farmer Agricultural Franchise in Nigeria"

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  Digital Empowerment Foundation

  • New Delhi, Delhi, India

  • Research & Advocacy Intern

    • May 2019 - Aug 2019
    • New Delhi, Delhi, India

    • Authored a 90+ page data-driven program evaluation report of DEF’s access to information initiative which helps rural communities avail government welfare schemes across 5 socioeconomically disadvantaged states in India: Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and RajasthanResearch Publication: “A gender assessment of welfare scheme service delivery in five Indian states through SoochnaPreneur: a last mile access to information initiative”• Conducting gender sensitivity training discussions in Hindi with over 30 SoochnaPreneurs which were informed by report findings

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  PaperTrue

  • Pune, Maharashtra, India

  • Intern to the CEO

    • Dec 2017 - Mar 2018
    • Pune, Maharashtra, India

    • Developed a model for PaperTrue’s Google AdWords strategy, resulted in a one-step procedure for cost-per-click bidding• Conducted in-depth research on competitors in the online proofreading and editing business to build out BestAdmit (www.bestadmit.com), a PaperTrue subsidiary specializing in college and graduate admissions essays editing• Founded a company charity initiative named “Think Before You Throw” so employees can donate food and clothing items to local Pune slums in partnership with Robinhood Army, an India-based NGO that combats food waste

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  Morgan Stanley

  • New York, New York, United States

  • Equity Research Data Analyst

    • Dec 2013 - Sep 2017
    • New York, New York, United States

    • Led a team in performing data analyses using business intelligence software, regularly presented analyses to Research & Sales Management• Performed data & statistical analyses in Excel on key research metrics, enabling Research Management to make decisions on optimizing department’s time with clients, analyst compensation, employee headcount, and stocks under research coverage• Built programs in Visual Basic to generate standard & ad-hoc performance reports, resulting in a more efficient process of providing performance data to ~200 equity analysts• Created and hosted a firmwide panel event: “Communicating with Clients”, attended by employees across 5 core firm divisions at Morgan Stanley's headquarters

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  Fordham University

  • New York, New York, United States

  • Development Econometrics Analyst

    • Sep 2013 - Nov 2013
    • New York, New York, United States

    • Worked under Dr. Mani, Professor of Applied Econometrics, using STATA regression analysis software to look at effects of health deterioration on Indonesia labor markets• Created charts in STATA using World Bank data that looked at poverty measures for Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam; charts published in working paper: Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty and Inequality: Young Lives (2013)

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  University of Michigan

  • Vytegra, Vologda, Russia

  • Economic Research Analyst

    • Feb 2013 - Mar 2013
    • Vytegra, Vologda, Russia

    • Completed a research project on retail business in Vytegra, concluding that Vytegra has shifted to a free market economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union- Senior thesis: An Economic Analysis of the Small Retail Market in Vytegra• Interviewed Vytegra’s Municipal Head of Economics and local customers, asking questions on pricing of goods, local tax practices, business ownership, and credit accessibility• Presented to high school students on culture and life in the United States

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  University of Michigan

  • Greater Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia

  • Student Scholar

    • Jul 2012 - Aug 2012
    • Greater Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia

    • Through USAID’s Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development (EHELD) program, constructed a cost/benefit analysis for a grant proposal’s request to install 25.9 MW solar panels for the University of Liberia-Fendell campus’s Engineering Building in replacement of its diesel generators, finding $360,000+ in savings/year • Along with two teaching fellows from Michigan’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, aided the design and implementation of an irrigation system for a vegetable farm in Kpondeh’s Town village