I’m still at the early stages of my involvement in progressive politics, and I’ve been working on volunteering, writing about progressive issues, and getting more connected to local organizing work. While I haven’t held a major political organizing role yet, my most recent project was as a volunteer Research Lead for the NYC Department of Education, which gave me experience leading a team, conducting focus groups, and synthesizing insights to inform decisions for a large public institution. That work strengthened the same skills I’m now applying to progressive spaces, which was designing research, translating complex findings into clear recommendations, and supporting mission-driven teams with data that helps them understand people’s needs and behaviors.