Rachel Marconi is a senior data visualization developer at the Urban Institute. She works to make data more accessible, comprehensible, and interactive.

Previously, Marconi built scrolling narratives and map embeds at the USA TODAY NETWORK Storytelling Studio. While there, she programmatically maneuvered 3D models to explain flaws in a high-hazard dam, used a table filled by writers to automate floodplain map layers and locations, and controlled navigation through a Bruce Springsteen article series with custom icons on a colorful map.

While completing a master’s degree at the University of Maryland, Marconi wrote state business and health coverage at Capital News Service and built data exploration pages as a fellow at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. She built a visual database of problematic historical news pages as part of the Howard Center’s Printing Hate project, which won an Investigative Reporters and Editors medal and an Online News Association award. She has also worked as a user interface designer and developer for a pharmaceutical devices company. She enjoys finding uses for natural language processing, optical character recognition, and web scraping techniques and has a passion for local news.

Marconi holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.