Our website is full of all sorts of interesting data dashboards, synthesizing information from an array of data sources to allow our staff and the public to better understand who is most impacted by various health issues.
Danny is one of the data scientists who does the behind-the-scenes work to make these data visualizations possible and to allow our staff to work efficiently. For this month’s Portraits in Public Health, we look behind the scenes to understand the work of Danny and his colleagues.
Hi Danny. What’s your job at Public Health?
I’m a data scientist. I create software tools to help my colleagues easily access and analyze easily access public health data for the community.
I love taking away unnecessary complexity for people. If I can free their time, their energy, their resources, they can engage more fully with community partners.
I work to take the complexity out by doing things like going through scientific journals and trying to figure out the best way to address statistical concerns on the back end. So, rather than staff asking “where is that data” or “how do I get this data for just last year,” we’ve created a data warehouse that provides data in an accessible way. The data magically appears for the end user, but on the back end, there’s quite a bit of work!
What’s an example of how your tools have supported healthier communities?
A good example is helping our staff access data about who does and doesn’t have health insurance coverage. Our Community Health Access Program helps enroll residents in health insurance, and this data tells them where they should focus their efforts.
We have limited resources for assisting people to get enrolled in health insurance and so we want to make sure we’re allocating those resources to the people who need the help the most. Why would we cover the county equally with certain resources if we know there are areas that are under resourced?
This data also informs our policy team – what’s happening at the state and federal level that explains who has health insurance? How are these policies playing out on the ground?
When I’m doing this work, I think, “Wow, this is what public health should be!”
What has your work taught you about health disparities?
I was aware that there were health disparities, but I would say on a regular basis, I’m astounded by the scale and the persistence. I find that discouraging, to be completely frank. There are deep structural issues going on.
The more we can bring focus to areas that are under resourced, the better that we can actually address the problems that we’re seeing. I think that, over time, resources have not been allocated equitably and sometimes end up concentrated in communities that are already doing really well.
Being able to easily access data can help guide decisionmakers and community groups to target resources to those who need them most.
Do you ever get to hear from members of the public who have used your tools to access public health data?
Yes! I was at a neighborhood block party, talking to a neighbor I didn’t know well. We were talking about health. He didn’t know my job, and he said, “Look at this great public health dashboard!” He pulled up one of our webpages and I was like, “I know that webpage! Wow, people are really using that.” It was such an encouraging encounter with a stranger.
What do you like most about your job?
I feel really privileged to work at Public Health – Seattle & King County. I realize a lot of public health departments are not as well-resourced as ours.
I came to this role from academia where we had more resources. When I first came here, this felt like kind of a step down in terms of the technology that we have. But the longer that I’m here, the more I realize we have so much more than most public health departments.
I’m also so grateful for my really great colleagues. I have colleagues who are really smart, really passionate and good at their work. I mean, what else could you want?
Explore Public Health data
- Our Public Health data homepage is a great starting place for exploring our many data dashboards and reports.
- Have a public health data question you’re not able to answer on your own? Fill out our data request service form and one of our data scientists will do their best to assist you.
Illustration by Kayla Fox.
Originally posted on May 27, 2026.
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