Sarah Eisele-Dyrli Named Data Engagement Specialist

Sarah Eisele-Dyrli has joined the Connecticut Data Collaborative as Data Engagement Specialist.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CT Data) is a public-private partnership that advocates for the public availability of open and accessible data, serving nonprofits, advocates, policymakers, community groups, and funders in using data to drive policy and improve programs and services, budgeting and decision making at the state, regional and local levels.

During her career, Eisele-Dyrli spent seven years at Everyday Democracy, a national organization based in Hartford, focusing on research, evaluation and learning. She also founded Social Impact Compass, a business that assists social enterprises to more fully realize their impact.

Eisele-Dyrli has experience working with clients to help them find ways to manage their data more efficiently and effectively, collect higher quality data and better understand their work through data. A Tolland resident, she has worked overseas, including in Australia and Thailand, and earned a certification as a trainer.

At CT Data, Eisele-Dyrli will build upon the past successes of CT Data Academy, developing new training for in-demand topics, leading training and workshops, and fostering new partnerships to expand CT Data Academy. In addition, she will provide technical assistance and consulting services to nonprofits seeking to improve their data collection, analysis, reporting, and storytelling, as well as supporting the growth of the statewide learning community around the use of data to drive planning and policy.

Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold said that Eisele-Dyrli “will be a tremendous asset in advancing our work to integrate data into decision-making in the public and private sector in Connecticut. She brings excellent experience and expertise, and joins an outstanding team of professionals who are helping to build an ecosystem of data users across the state and improve data literacy.”

CT Data strives for informed decision-making across Connecticut, empowering an ecosystem of data users by democratizing access to public data and building data literacy skills. More than 200 data sets are now accessible to the public on the CT Data website, including a wide array of subjects and policy categories.

Last fall, the Connecticut Data Collaborative was designated as the lead organization for the State of Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program and as Connecticut’s official source for Census data related to the 2020 Census. Riordan-Nold was named this year as a member of the state’s Complete Count Committee.

Eisele-Dyrli developed an interest in evidence and high-quality data informing policy decisions while attending the University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work for Policy Practice and International Social Work. She is a graduate of Messiah College in Grantham, PA. She joins a staff focused on providing accessible public data, liberating and visualizing data for public consumption, convening data forums and conferences, and increasing data literacy through its CT Data Academy.

CT Data has also established a partnership with Trinity College’s Liberal Arts Action Lab to work on projects of mutual interest, including health and housing data visualization and analysis of Hartford neighborhoods, and has offices on Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative’s website is ctdata.org.