In honor of Ada Lovelace Day — Lovelace being the world’s first programmer (HT Ellen Miller!) — I want to kick things off by introducing our talented women on staff who help bring you OpenSecrets.org.
Each of them is contributing to our Capital Eye blog today, including researchers Carolyn Sharpe and Erin Williams, and intern Cassandra LaRussa. And I want to take a moment to pay special tribute to two “CRP women in technology” that I admire: IT Director Susi Alger and Research Director Jihan Andoni.
Susi has been at the Center nearly 11 years and keeps our data and systems humming — an admirable feat given the complexity and depth of our data. Her work is even more of a challenge considering she’s charged with obtaining adequate software and necessary equipment on a shoestring budget. Susi has kept this data shop up and running, seemingly with spit and duct tape. Susi is one of the hardest working women I know. (She’s always online! Does she ever sleep? That is, when shes not conducting the — literally — round-the-clock processing that presidential cycle data demand.)
Jihan is the heart of a research staff that is the core of the Centers work. Originally hired as CRPs database manager in 1999, Jihan was appointed research director in 2007. The data and information that Jihan and her staff produce is the fundamental work of our organization, and Jihans work ethic and positive, encouraging nature provide the glue that binds her hard-working team. The tech-smarts, political finance expertise and commitment to excellence of these two women are part of the reason why CRP is widely viewed as the premier group tracking money in federal politics.
We encourage you to honor Ada Lovelace by reading todays entries and please comment, retweet (using the #ALD10 tag) or post the ideas that these talented women will be presenting to your Facebook page. Or better yet, if you have a blog or would like to start one, join us in posting a blog item of your own!
Sheila Krumholz is the Center for Responsive Politics’ executive director