Colin first became interested in programs that help those most marginalized by poverty, inequity, and structural racism as a debate coach for the Bay Area Urban Debate League. While working there, Colin ran a debate league for students who attended public schools that did not have their own debate programs. In working with these students, he saw firsthand the impact of racial and economic inequities in the education system. Those experiences fuel Colin’s desire to improve government services for California’s most vulnerable individuals and families. After moving to Los Angeles, Colin shifted his policy focus to homelessness due to the sheer magnitude of the housing crisis in the region and the cascading, intersectional consequences of losing stable housing.

At CPL, Colin analyzes data for multiple projects on homelessness. Colin is responsible for cleaning, linking, and manipulating administrative data to generate analytic datasets capable of answering policy and research questions on programs and services in Los Angeles County. Colin also contributes to applied research projects by writing, visualizing, and presenting findings to government and community partners. In addition to his role at CPL, Colin is embedded as a consulting analyst at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA), where he provides technical advice on managing and analyzing large administrative datasets.

Colin uses his knowledge of econometrics, proficiency in multiple programming languages, and experience in program evaluation and policy implementation to provide analytical insights to better serve people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This includes estimating the size of vulnerable groups in County services, such as those with serious mental illness, or measuring how well the system connects individuals to the services and housing they need to escape homelessness. Colin is the co-author of several CPL reports focused on addressing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Prior to joining CPL, Colin worked as a Research Assistant with the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation where he conducted original quantitative analysis for the Homelessness Policy Research Institute and the Neighborhood Data for Social Change platform. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and his Masters of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. In his free time, Colin enjoys hiking and cooking.