HARTFORD – Dr. Rachel Leventhal-Weiner of West Hartford has been named assistant director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData).

Leventhal-Weiner, who joined the organization in 2016 as its data engagement specialist since 2016, has been developing and overseeing the CT Data Academy, a comprehensive public education initiative to build data literacy and data capacity in state agencies, nonprofits and community organizations across Connecticut. She has also been contributing to CT Data’s growing repository of data stories and to the general operation of the organization.

CT Data Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold said Leventhal-Weiner’s “expertise, leadership, and effective outreach will continue to be a tremendous asset for Connecticut as CT Data expands its efforts throughout the state.” She added that “promoting her to this broadened role is a perfect fit, and has been earned by the valued contribution she has made advancing our mission.”

Leventhal-Weiner has experience as an educator, researcher and policy advocate with a focus on resolving inequality in early childhood, K-12 public education, and postsecondary experiences. She joined CT Data two years ago from Connecticut Voices for Children, where she served as the Education Policy Fellow. Leventhal-Weiner received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut, M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from the Teachers College at Columbia University, and a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University.

CT Data was designated last month as the lead organization in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program and Connecticut’s official source for Census data, as the state and nation approach the 2020 Census. In recent months, CT Data established a partnership with Trinity College’s Liberal Arts Action Lab to work on projects including health and housing data visualization and analysis of Hartford neighborhoods, and launched a three-year initiative to improve the data literacy skills of nonprofit organizations, with support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.