Homelessness - Data Driven Problems, Data Driven Solutions

Sep 19 2019
When: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Where: Harman Academy for Polymathic Study, DML 241
Event Type: Workshop

Event Details

According to the LA Times, homelessness was up by 12 percent over last year in the county and up 16 percent in the City of Los Angeles.  That puts L.A. County’s homeless population at 58,936 and the city’s at 36,300. Last year, citizens passed measures that funded, among other strategies, intensive data collection among the homeless population.  How might insights garnered from large datasets be productive in addressing and ameliorating the myriad challenges and factors surrounding the homelessness crisis in our city? Does turning to data collecting strengthen or distance the human to human connection that is needed to lift a person out of the seemingly intractable cycle of homelessness?

Panel discussants:

Adlai Wertman, David C. Bohnett Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Founding Director, Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab; former CEO of Chrysalis*

Michael Graff-Weisner, VP of Strategy and External Relations at Chrysalis

Benjamin Brooks, junior studying computer science and member of CAIS++. Ben will moderate, bringing a technical view of data through the lens of machine learning and data science.



*Chrysalis is a non-profit in Los Angeles devoted to helping homeless persons through employment

 

Speaker Information

Speaker

Adlai Wertman

David C. Bohnett Professor of Social Entrepreneurship Founding Director, Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab

Adlai Wertman is Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship in the Marshall School of Business and the Founding Director of the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab. Professor Wertman spent seven years as President and CEO of Chrysalis, the only non-profit in Los Angeles devoted solely to helping homeless change their lives through employment. Prior to Chrysalis, Professor Wertman spent 18 years as Managing Director and Manager of Prudential Securities' West Coast Public Investment Banking Group. Professor Wertman consults with not-for-profits and government groups on fundraising, strategic planning, and governance, and is a frequent speaker on social responsibility, social enterprise and public/private partnerships. Professor Wertman also serves on the Faculty Advisory Board for the Harman Academy for Polymathic Study.

Michael Graff-Weisner

Vice President, Strategy & External Relations

Michael Graff-Weisner is the VP of Strategy & External Relations at Chrysalis – a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities. At Chrysalis, Michael leads the organization’s work in the community, developing partnerships and projects, working with public-sector partners and policy-makers, as well as spearheading the agency’s plans for growth and expansion. Michael brings over 18 years’ experience in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors to his position at Chrysalis. His workforce development experience includes creating and managing job training programs at the Wilshire-Metro WorkSource Center in Los Angeles, and managing programs serving refugees at CAMBA in Brooklyn, NY. Outside of the workforce development field, Michael has worked as a technology consultant to nonprofit organizations, designed and launched an after school program for high school students, and worked as a researcher at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Michael received a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Amherst College and a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.