Political Communication Research: Zana English's Journey with Bluebonnet Data

By Mare Ahmed Wednesday, August 14th, 2024

Background 

Zana English, a Bluebonnet fellow and community member for several years, is now serving as a Senior Research Associate at the American Experiment Project, where she focuses on political communication and messaging strategies. She is looking to find what messaging resonates with different voters. Since her time at Bluebonnet Data, Zana has pursued a career that intersects policy, outreach, and technology. Her curiosity and drive led her to a fellowship at Accountable.US, where she delved into social media metrics and opposition research. Zana further expanded her impact through her work at Voter.er, an organization dedicated to developing civic engagement tools for healthcare professionals. Each role has honed her skills and deepened her understanding of how data can drive political and civic engagement.

Bluebonnet Fellowship 

Bluebonnet Data gave her a glimpse into political data. During the 2022 midterms, through the Bluebonnet fellowship Zana was matched to Black Voters Matter to support a candidate in North Carolina. Tasked with evaluating social media platforms for campaign effectiveness, this fellow team found that TikTok was the best platform for outreach, with one video capturing an impressive 90,000 views. 

Zana believes effective data management is crucial. She emphasizes that inaccuracies or poor data handling can lead to misguided decisions and misallocated resources. The other importance that Zana emphasizes is that quality data management helps us better measure productivity and impact.

Career Journey 

 Zana relies heavily on the skills she gained from teaching 7th - 12th grade science through Teach for America. Much like political organizing, teaching requires an understanding of diverse needs and motivations.  Throughout her career, Zana found the most valuable resource to be people. In every organization, Zana found mentorship which is why she believes it is essential to always share information. At Bluebonnet Data, we agree with the sentiment which is why we are always looking for new ways to connect with our community members beyond the fellowship. Over a year ago, we introduced a training series to offer more insight to the tools and platforms that enable data analysis. We make ourselves available to office hours and post open roles in the jobs channel everyday. A core mission of Bluebonnet Data is to extend support to fellows like Zana who are interested in learning more.

Her story shows how early experiences and the support of community can shape a career dedicated to making a meaningful impact. As she continues to use data to drive political communication strategies, Zana’s path serves as an inspiration for those looking to have a dynamic and fulfilling career.