Meet the Team
Christopher R. Berry
Faculty Lead
Christopher R. Berry is the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy and the College and director of the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation at the University of Chicago. He was the inaugural director of the Center for Municipal Finance and is a current faculty affiliate. Professor Berry's research interests include American politics, metropolitan governance, municipal finance, and intergovernmental fiscal relations. He is the author of Imperfect Union: Representation and Taxation in Multilevel Governments , winner of the Best Book Award in Urban Politics from the American Political Science Association, Theory and Credibility (with Scott Ashworth and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita), and many other scholarly publications. Professor Berry's research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver , and many other outlets. Professor Berry is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. For access to Professor Berry's writings, please visit his research website . To learn more about his research on property tax fairness, visit www.propertytaxproject.uchicago.edu .
Eric Langowski
Senior Data Scientist
Eric Langowski is a Senior Data Scientist at the Mansueto Institute. He is also a senior data scientist for local government and has previously worked at the city, county, state, and federal levels of government. His work with University of Chicago Professor Christopher Berry on property taxes has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Bloomberg News. He has in the past worked with the Coalition for Property Tax Justice and as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois Chicago. Eric holds a Master of Science in Computational Analysis & Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Indiana University.
Divij Sinha
Research Engineer
Divij Sinha earned an MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MS CAPP) from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and is a research engineer with the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation. Before this, he has spent time working at the intersection of urban policy research and practice at the Urban Informatics Lab at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements. He has worked across themes like domestic work, employment, child and maternal health, and, migration.
Kevin Bryson
Data Journalism Fellow
Kevin Bryson graduated from Morehouse College in 2021. He is a PhD student at the University of Chicago in SUPERgroup, working with Blase Ur. Kevin builds interfaces that help illuminate fairness‑related decisions throughout the data science process and explores how new (and old) data processing techniques can generate justice by critically engaging with the impacts of systemic inequalities on data. Kevin also researches the usability of privacy and ad transparency systems in online platforms.
Joaquin Pinto
Data Journalism Fellow
Joaquin Pinto is a student at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy where he is currently pursuing the Master of Science in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP). He previously completed his BA in Economics with a Minor in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago and worked as a Quantitative Analyst at Refinitiv with the Energy Research Team. Joaquin is joining us for the Data Journalism Fellowship with the Who Owns Chicago team; he is excited to explore means to use data-driven methods to guide policy making in sustainable and equitable urban development.
Caitlin P.
Data Journalism Fellow
Caitlin is pursuing her M.S. in Computational Analysis and Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Before coming to UChicago, she worked as a Data Engineer and Data Analyst at nonprofits focusing on voter outreach and human rights. Caitlin received her bachelor’s in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is interested in applying her data science skills to advance civil liberties and electoral access.
Ana (Anita) Restrepo Lachman
Data Journalism Fellow
Anita Restrepo Lachman is a doctoral student in Psychology working in the Social Psychophysiology and Neuroendocrinology Lab under Dr. Greg Norman. Anita completed her bachelors in Neuroscience and Psychology at Duke University and has focused her research on the effects of social stress, in particular loneliness, on decision-making, behavior, and peripheral nervous system activity.
Austin Steinhart
Data Journalism Fellow
Austin Steinhart is currently pursuing an MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. On campus, Austin serves as a Lead Developer with the Chicago Maroon and as a board member for South Side Civic. Before beginning graduate school, he worked in youth development supporting the next generation of change-makers and in political analytics as a full-stack analyst.
Anuj Agarwal
Data Journalism Fellow
Anuj Agarwal is pursuing a Master of Science in the Computer Science (MPCS) program. Anuj completed his bachelor’s in Data Science at the University of Chicago, while working as a Teaching Assistant for the department. Previously, he worked as a Software Engineer at Cadence Design Systems, where he developed a new search engine feature for a product.
Nolan Shaffer
Data Journalism Fellow
Nolan Shaffer is pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Fundamentals: Issues and Texts at the University of Chicago, where he studies philosophy to learn how technology becomes a problem. He is passionate about applying his skillset to support institutions that serve the public good. Nolan is the head arts editor of the Chicago Maroon, the founder of the UChicago Alt Protein Project, and has worked as a software engineer for the New York Public Library. He has also contributed to policy and data projects with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India) and the Data, Policy, and Innovation Centre in Odisha.