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Amanda McFarland

Experienced Data Analyst & Analytics Engineer

Data - EdTech - Economics & Policy Research

About Me

I am an experienced data analyst & analytics engineer passionate about using data for good. I strive to build reliable and efficient data models that empower businesses to make bold, data-driven decisions. My background in economic & policy research informs my rigorous and nuanced approach to data modeling, analytics, & data science.  

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I'm constantly looking for new learning opportunities to apply my skillset to effect positive change in the world. If you have an interesting data problem or job opportunity, reach out to amanda@amandamcfarland.com to connect!

Work Experience

Jan 2022 - Aug 2022

Jan 2021 - Dec 2021

Jul 2018 - Jul 2020

Oct 2016 - May 2018

BI Analyst - Section4

  • Modeled foundational business strategy models using dbt, SQL, and Python, including Section4’s first in-house marketing attribution model and first monthly active user model

  • Wrangled data from many sources–including Wordpress, Segment, Mux, and Zoom–to perform user retention & churn analyses in SQL and Python

  • Implemented version control in git and testing best practices in dbt to ensure data quality for end users

  • Partnered with the engineering team to maintain and build new data pipelines, including writing Python scripts to pull data from an external API on a daily cadence

  • Performed ad-hoc strategy analyses in SQL and Python that informed changes to the company's product offerings

  • Translated big-picture questions from non-technical stakeholders into data models & self-service KPI dashboards

Senior Data Analyst - Emendata, LLC

  • Partnered with healthcare industry clients to develop innovative analysis frameworks, KPIs, scoreboards and research methodologies that fit their agency's needs

  • Implemented advanced data science techniques (regression, ML, clustering, NLP) in Python for predictive analysis purposes

  • Worked independently on various workstreams, taking full ownership of all code and data work

  • Presented to clients, communicating results and facilitating discussions on how to translate these findings into policy solutions

Research Assistant - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

  • Assisted senior economists on research projects through literature review, data analysis, writing, and editing, culminating in academic working and published papers

  • Implemented advanced statistical and econometric techniques for research and economic forecasting purposes

  • Managed up to 5 long-term research projects concurrently

  • Developed and co-taught a technical onboarding curriculum for new research assistants on 6 programming languages over 18 sessions

  • Founded a Diversity in Economic Research group dedicated to increasing the recruitment and retention underrepresented minorities in the research assistant program

Research Assistant and Ford Scholar - Vassar College

  • Assisted Professor Sarah Pearlman in her research on women's underrepresentation in computer science and Professor Sukanya Basu on her research on immigrants' physical and financial health

  • Collected, cleaned, analyzed, and visualized data in Stata and GIS

  • Performed extensive literature reviews, identifying important papers in the field and synthesizing my findings into reports

Skills

Technical Skills

  • dbt

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  • SQL

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  • Python

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  • R

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  • Excel / GSuite

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  • Holistics 

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  • Amplitude

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  • Snowflake

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  • Stitch & Fivetran​​

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  • git

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Domain Expertise

  • Data Modeling

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  • Data Analysis

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  • Business Intelligence

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  • Dashboarding

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  • Data Visualization

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  • Research Design

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  • Product analytics

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  • Marketing analytics

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Soft Skills

  • Communication

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  • Leadership

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  • Collaboration

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  • Presentation

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  • Listening

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  • Flexibility

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  • Patience

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