Intro to Python

From unpacking massive datasets to webscraping, coding in Python can open up new frontiers of actionable insights for labor researchers. In this intro-level skills-based workshop, Mellissa Chang of Rank and File Research will help you take the first steps to incorporating Python into your own strategic research. If you are interested in webscraping but do not have prior experience with Python, this workshop will give you everything you need to succeed in Mellissa’s second, more advanced workshop: Webscraping as an Organizing Tool.

Mellissa Chang (she/hers) is freelance campaign researcher and data engineer. Through her firm, Rank and File Research, she conducts data-informed campaign research and builds data tools for labor unions and non-profits. Prior to this, she was a research coordinator at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, where she tracked and analyzed eviction data and acquisitions to support tenant organizing campaigns around the country. During the pandemic, she closely tracked covid relief spending, identifying parent recipients and matching recipients to a database of federal regulatory violations, earning her the DC Femme Tech Award in 2021. Before entering the non-profit sphere, she worked as an airports campaign researcher at 32BJ. Mellissa holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. In her spare time, she builds automated mass transit systems in Minecraft.