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Alaa Moussawi serves as Chief Data Scientist for the New York City Council, where he oversees the operations of a team of data scientists, and a team of software engineers.
Under his leadership, the data team promotes the use of data to shape legislative initiatives aimed at addressing the diverse needs of NYC's residents. Utilizing rigorous statistical and technological tools, they analyze a broad spectrum of issues pertinent to the city, ranging from pay equity to rats or school bus delays. The group's objective is to empower policymakers with insights to facilitate data-driven decision making, while emphasizing transparency and reproducibility in their models and research.
The software engineers design and implement technologies aimed at enhancing the efficiency of council staff while reducing cognitive load. By leveraging efficient algorithms and NLP/AI models, they streamline user workflows/interfaces and automate complex tasks. Their solutions, developed exclusively with open source technologies, are customized to the bespoke needs of the NYC Council. They include CRMs, workflow management suites, and various public/private websites for streamlining processes such as paperless hearings, data access through dashboards, and automation of daily tasks.