​To celebrate women's month, we are sharing some of our inspirational community members here at SODA. Meet the fabulous Allegra Grunberg.

Allegra has a background in political and behavioural science, as well as education tech, and is passionate about using data, technology, and human-centric design to create humane systems and policies. Allegra has always worked to unite and motivate people to focus on building systems and organizations that bolster the individual and society as a whole. 

Allegra has 10 years of experience in managing and creating organization-wide operations in both the public and private sectors. She previously helped launch The Decision Lab, ContinuTech LCT, and has worked on Capitol Hill, for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and at the Democratic polling firm Lake Research Partners. Her motto is to learn, challenge, and thrive. Learn about your current systems including inequity that exists in society, in order to take concrete steps to address systemic disparities, and challenge the status quo by building innovations and policies that promote equity, diversity and inclusion.

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Where did you study and what got you into your profession?

I studied Political Science at Chapman University and Brandeis University. I fell in love with systems analysis specifically regarding governing policies during my first political science class. Shortly after, I read Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow, and added behavioral science, data science, and technology to my human-centric system creation toolkit and the rest is history. 

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What have been your biggest career and personal achievements? 

In general, I take pride in my willingness to explore new things and embrace vulnerability, which is fundamental if you are to learn from any novel experience. Whether it be receiving feedback, or changing jobs, or relocating to a new city. I’d say my most significant career accomplishment was launching my own company, even though I had no idea what I was doing at the time. My passion for the product and its potentially positive impact on society pushed me to seek answers and knowledge constantly, which helped me gain valuable insights and learning opportunities along the way.

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What advice would you give to your younger self?

My advice, would be to have confidence in your abilities, believe in your vision and your ideas, and don't be afraid to take risks. Also, recognize your strengths and unique talents, use them to your advantage, and always keep learning.  Seeking out new knowledge and skills, will help you stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changing circumstances. Lastly, but I’d say most importantly, practice compassion and empathy, both towards yourself and others. This will help you understand situations better, and allow you to be more effective in your interactions with others.

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What does an equitable space look like for you? How can this create impact? 

In my opinion, an equitable space is one where everyone is treated fairly, has equal access to resources and opportunities, and is able to participate fully without facing discrimination, bias or exclusion. An equitable space would values diversity, promotes inclusion, and recognizes and addresses systemic barriers that exist in society.

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