PROJECT TEAM

W.F. Umi Hsu

Digital Strategist, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
Project Role: Lead Data and Design Strategist
Umi Hsu is a strategic designer and public humanist who engages with hybrid research and organizing agendas for equity in arts, technology, and civic life. Hsu leads design strategy and digital initiatives at City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and advises Arts for LA, Center for Cultural Innovation, and Society of Ethnomusicology. With a PhD in Critical and Comparative Studies in Music from the University of Virginia, they teach as adjunct professor at ArtCenter College of Design and University of Southern California.

Judy Toretti

Independent Designer/Researcher/Strategist
Project Role: Designer
Judy Toretti is a designer with a background in traditional design and a passion for design thinking, strategy, and research. She uses design to analyze systems, gather deeper user insights, and establish compelling visual narratives. Toretti is an alumna of the inaugural cohort of the Media Design Practices + Field Graduate Program at ArtCenter College of Design. She has deep experience working with large institutions analyzing and distilling data, and information for public use. Her work includes projects for The Los Angeles Fire Department, The City of Long Beach Innovation Team, and the City of Santa Monica Office of Civic Wellbeing.

Data Analyst Assistant, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
Project Role: Data Analyst
Christine Nguyen is a Data Analyst Assistant at DCA working to develop data pipelines, data wrangling, visualization, and statistical analysis. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California in the Bay Area, and is now pursuing a Masters of Science in Business Analytics from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Through her graduate program she has worked with LACMA to create a digital analytics strategy for their website redesign and the homepage of their Collections Online, and the Data Team at the Mayor’s Office to create and map an Interactive Homelessness Tool.

Izzy Mitchell

Data Science Assistant, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
Project Role: Data Analyst
Izzy Mitchell focuses on using data to inform, implement, and evaluate civic solutions and facilitates open data sharing in Los Angeles through the GeoHub. After working as a research assistant and member of the Neighborhood Arts Profile team at the Department of Cultural Affairs, they went on to fill the role of Data Services Lead on the Data Team at the Mayor’s Office of Budget and Innovation. Mitchell graduated from the University of Southern California’s GeoDesign program where they partnered with Esri and the Data Team to produce “A Spatial Analysis of Street-Level Crime Trends in Los Angeles.”