Jonathan Schwabish

Jonathan Schwabish is a Senior Research Associate in The Urban Institute’s Income and Benefits Policy Center. He is also a member of the Institute’s Communication team where he specializes in data visualization and presentation design. His research agenda includes such areas as earnings and income inequality, immigration, disability insurance, retirement security, data measurement, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other aspects of public policy.

Schwabish is also considered a leader in the data visualization field and is a leading voice for clarity and accessibility in research. He has written on various aspects of how to best visualize data including technical aspects of creation, design best practices, and how to communicate social science research in more accessible ways. He was named a “visualization thought leader” by AllAnalytics in 2013 and speaks widely on the issues of data visualization, open data, and data use in organizations.

He also teaches data visualization and presentation skills at Georgetown University and the Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as in public workshops and for private clients through his consulting firm, PolicyViz. Schwabish also co-hosts the Rad Presenters Podcast that aims to improve people’s presentation skills. Additionally, he hosts the PolicyViz podcast, which focuses on data, open data, and data visualization. He is currently writing a book on presentation skills and design with Columbia University Press. He is on Twitter @jschwabish.