About Us

John is an urban planner and the executive director of DataWorks. His work with neighborhoods and community organizations includes mapping and other data visualization related to demographics, housing, health, economic development and the intersection of these in communities.

L’Tanya is the Data Action Coordinator at DataWorks. Her work aims to facilitate conversations that establish and deepen relationships with community groups and organizations, and to suggest ways data can support the goals unique to each community. L’Tanya is the Data Action Coordinator. Her work aims to facilitate conversations that establish and deepen relationships with community groups and organizations, and to suggest ways data can support the goals unique to each community. She has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and is particularly interested in combining data and the written narrative to share meaningful stories of our neighbors and communities.

Mad Bankson is a queer geographer and organizer from coastal North Carolina. They currently attend UNC’s masters program in City and Regional Planning, where their studies focus on environmental planning and climate equity. Located in Durham, Mad is proud to work on collective efforts related to housing and labor rights, racial justice, and community-based disaster relief. Mad Bankson is a queer geographer and organizer from coastal North Carolina. They currently attend UNC’s masters program in City and Regional Planning, where their studies focus on environmental planning and climate equity. Located in Durham, Mad is proud to work on collective efforts related to housing and labor rights, racial justice, and community-based disaster relief.

David Vanie is originally from Detroit, MI and has lived in Durham for 8 years, raising 5 children with his wife. He loves empowering his people toward collective liberation using culturally responsive frameworks. David operates from the perspective that gifting and genius are the cornerstone of self-sufficiency necessary for communal freedom.  He imagines the power of data technology being able to function as an equalizing tool for creating equity in historically oppressed communities.  David will be graduating from NCCU with his bachelor’s in human behavioral social science in December 2021. His desire is to continue to cultivate and create pathways for re-imagining the equitable participation in the development and utilization of data driven technology in Durham, NC.

Libby is DataWorks’ health data analyst. Her work is focused on the ways in which historical and structural inequalities produce health disparities.

Research Action Design is a worker-owned collective which uses community-led research, collaborative design of technology and media, and secure digital strategies to build the power of grassroots social movements. RAD partners with DataWorks to support research, design, and development for the Neighborhood Compass and the Neighborhood Health Indicators projects, as well as to support community-based research and engagement around equitable development.

I am an activist, animator, graphic designer, illustrator, comic artist and graphic facilitator based in the South. My artistic work is colored by my identity as a Black, immigrant, Muslim, gay trans guy and comic book nerd. I bring my boldness, quirks, and convictions to every project I work on, producing visuals that pack a punch!

As the child of a first generation college student, Alexandra believes education has the power to be a revolutionary agent for people and communities and a means to create a just and equitable world. To act on those beliefs, Alexandra has worked in partnerships with students, parents and the Durham community here at Student U for the past 7 years. Alexandra’s vision for the world is one where organizations like Student U no longer exist and every person is able to reach his or her full potential because our systems and institutions are just and equitable. Until that vision is reached, she is thankful to do work that is meaningful, urgent and necessary alongside an incredible personal and professional community.

Why DataWorks? I am energized and inspired by DataWorks’ vision of empowering citizens and communities with the data they need to tell true and honest stories about their own communities. My highest aspiration is that DataWorks becomes a mechanism that all Durham citizens can use to hold our city accountable for doing right by all members of our community.

Fred is a Chapel Hill-Durham resident since 1993. He is an Assistant Professor and currently serves as the Vice Chief of Duke’s Division of Community Health in the Department of Community and Family Medicine. Fred grew up in the Mid-Atlantic United States in the state of Maryland, in a large urban city, Baltimore. He completed his undergraduate studies at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Wake Forest University Babcock School of Business with a Master degree in Business Administration. 

He is a former community organizer with several unique accomplishments including the Community Reinvestment Act and while working for The AFL-CIO put 10,000 seniors on the Mall in Washington DC in opposition to President Ronald Reagan’s proposed cuts in Social Security.

Vannessa Mason Evans is a native of Durham, North Carolina. She grew up in Braggtown, and is now the chairperson of the Braggtown Community Association. Vannessa is fighting for fair and affordable housing for those that are in need and stopping the displacement of black and brown people.

Bonita Green is a native of Durham, NC, who grew up, and currently resides in the Merrick-Moore Community. 
Bonita currently serves as Chair for the Merrick-Moore Community Development Group. Her advocacy work is in fighting for safer streets in Durham, clean air and water, and affordable housing for the lower wealth residents of Durham.

David has been a Durham resident since 2007. He is a Patient Account Analyst for Duke University Health System. David graduated with honors receiving a Bachelors degree in Accounting from North Carolina Central University. He also obtained a Masters degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University. David believes in education as one of the most powerful tools to shape one’s life and the lives of others. He has a deep reverence for the community that makes up the diverse and highly cultured city of Durham NC.

Hardworking, Strong, and Charismatic are only a few words to describe Rod Jenkins. Rod is the Public Health Director for the Durham County Department of Public Health. A Charleston, South Carolina native, Rod Jenkins is a 1997 graduate of The Citadel- The Military College of South Carolina. An O. Ray Moore Full Academic Scholar, Rod graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.

He was later awarded a Master of Health Administration Degree in 2005 from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. Rod Jenkins served eight years in the South Carolina Army National Guard earning various awards and decorations.
Rod is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated,
Rod has held many managerial positions throughout his career. He worked for Wachovia Bank for over ten years. After a brief stint with Southeastern Health, he entered public service as Director of Financial Aid & Veteran’s Affairs at Robeson Community College in Lumberton. Rod was then afforded the opportunity to serve three years as the Assistant County Manager for Robeson County. Rod fulfilled his desire to enter public health and served 9 years as the Deputy Public Health Director for the Cumberland County Department of Public Health.

When he is not working, Rod spends quality time with his family. Rod is married to Mrs. Shereta McIver Jenkins, a native of Lumberton. They are the proud parents of their heartbeats — ten-year-old, Rodney Ellis Jenkins, Jr., better known as “Roddy “and
three-year-old, Isabella Larue Jenkins affectionately known as Bella. He is passionate about health and fitness and can be found lifting weights or running outdoors. Rod is committed to helping others to achieve their dreams. His philosophy in life continues to
be “A man without a plan is not a man.”

Anise Vance serves as the Open Data Program Manager for the City and County of Durham. Previously, he was the Senior Manager of Research in Race and Equity at the Boston Foundation. He holds an M.Phil. in Geography from Queen’s University Belfast, an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University, and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.