Hello! I'm Rachel, an interactives designer and developer.
I chew on complex problems. I make data human-legible and local-relatable. I love to learn new things and stretch the limits of what's doable.
Most recently, I built interactive visuals for the Urban Institute, a nonprofit in the policy research space. I worked on large data explorers and dashboards on teams with writers and designers, mid-sized rapid response features on a tight budget and timetable, and small, one-off charts and tables in Datawrapper for a quick-learning blog team.
I got my start as a city council reporter with a computer engineering degree in rural Pennsylvania, then got a master's in journalism with a focus in data and web development, simultaneously covering health, business, and local life in Maryland. I made interactive experiences at USA TODAY out of grad school before two years working with Svelte 4 and 5 at Urban.
I'm eager to dive into important work building ways for folk to understand the issues around them. I'm invested in humans. And the work is worth it.
It's great to meet you!
Quick look at my work
Want to work with me? Get in touch
Email me at RachelMarconi256 at gmail dot com
Portfolio
I'm skilled with Svelte, LayerCake, ArchieML, MapBox, Protomaps, DataWrapper, and ETL in R. I've stood as a project manager, I've built analytics capturing in GA, and I've built my team's component library in StoryBook. I've worked closely with designers and I've dreamt up my own pitches. Here's a selection of my products.
Senior Data Visualization Developer | The Urban Institute
January 2023 to April 2025
I worked with Svelte and D3 to make interactive maps and charts explaining our policy center research to experts.
How Latino-Serving CDFIs Can Shape a Thriving American Economy
Published March 13, 2025
Built a scrolling narrative of text and LayerCake charts generated from an ArchieML file.
What Is the Financial Risk of Nonprofits Losing Government Grants?
Published February 21, 2025
Built a map for state navigation alongside an R-script-iterated set of tables with a heat map column.
Debt in America: An Interactive Map
Published October 2023, updated September 2024
Updated a map tool project to include a new cut of young adult state debt data among other county-level debt data for all adults.
The Changing Medical Debt Landscape in the United States
Published July 2024
Built a line chart tool with LayerCake allowing users to compare medical debt in different counties and states.
Does SNAP Cover the Cost of a Meal in Your County?
Published July 2023, updated May 2024
Built a map with D3 that shows the difference nationwide between SNAP prices and the average cost of a moderate meal in each county.
How School Officials and Housing Developers Can Partner to Desegregate Communities
Published April 2024
Built a map, chart, and takeaway data tool using Svelte, LayerCake, and MapBox showing how racial disparities in housing affect local schools.
Supporting Women of Color Experiencing Homelessness as Individuals in Los Angeles
Published March 2024
Built several charts with Datawrapper to support each section of a feature.
The Special Purpose Credit Program Data Toolkit
Published March 2024
Built a set of automatically generated factsheets and charts displaying credit and wealth statistics for 50 major cities.
Housing First Is Still the Best Approach to Ending Homelessness
Published February 2024
Built comprehensive charts with Datawrapper to back each simple point in an enhanced blog post.
Mapping Neighborhoods with the Highest Risk of Housing Instability and Homelessness
Published July 2023
Built a map tool in MapBox that highlights where in each state is most in need of housing aid.
The Promise and Pitfalls of the Washington, DC, Region’s Strong Capital Flows
Published February 2023
Put in an animated D3 tweak for a missing last data point in a line chart.
Software developer | USA TODAY Network's Storytelling Studio
June 2022 to December 2022
I made scrolling narratives with maps and 3D models, crafted interactive maps with Mapbox and built components to enhance web presentations. Many of these have unfortunately been dismantled.
Personal Projects
Data Fellow | The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
December 2020 to April 2022
I worked on data, graphics and news applications for this highly collaborative newsroom. The Howard Center is hosted through the University of Maryland.
Health and Business Data Reporter | Capital News Service - Annapolis Bureau
September to December 2021
Capital News Service-Annapolis covers state news out of Maryland State House. I live-tweeted Gov. Larry Hogan's pressers and the assembly's special sessions for daily stories, but I also worked out longer data stories with deeply human connections based on the odd press release or tip. This full-time, four-day-per-week wire service is run as a semester-long class through the University of Maryland.
Staff Writer | College Park Here & Now
June 2020 to September 2021
I wrote human-focused stories, took photographs and delivered papers for this fledgling community newspaper.
Stringer | The Daily American / Our Town, Johnstown
May 2017 to October 2018
I worked for both The Daily American (Somerset County, PA), and its offshoot paper Our Town, Johnstown (PA), while I was in undergrad. I covered features and news on both daily and weekly deadlines. My stories ranged from covering city council financial audits of the worst-off metropolis in PA to covering summer fairs organized by all the churches in a small town. See my complete authorship on the DA's webpage.