“I was extremely lucky to have entered a field as it was taking shape,” said Lundry, the co-founder of Tunnl, a nonpartisan audience analytics firm. “Becoming a data scientist allowed me to combine the programming, statistics and domain expertise that I gained earning my public policy degree.”
Lundry’s work in analytics often requires the use of political polling data. His company, Tunnl, uses microtargeting tactics to support organizations with issue advocacy and brand management initiatives, while the other company he co-founded, Deep Root Analytics, focuses on campaign politics. Acknowledging that not all polls are perfect, Lundry noted that a major flaw with current polling is how the data is being used. “Policymakers and politicians should be using polls to better understand the needs, wishes and desires of the electorate,” he said.
Nearly two decades since Lundry began his career in data and polling, he remains grateful for the McCourt School’s cutting-edge curriculum and optimistic about the current and future McCourt students who will enter the policy world armed with critical quantitative skills.