Michael B Simon Explained

Michael B. Simon
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:University of Michigan
Other Names:Michael Simon
Occupation:Entrepreneur
Known For:Analytics director, Obama for America[1] [2]
CEO, Elucd
Website:http://michaelbsimon.com/

Michael B. Simon is an American entrepreneur and analytics expert who notably led analytics efforts on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election campaign.[3] [4] [5] [6] He is the co-founder of the technology startup Elucd.[7]

Early life

Simon reportedly got his first computer at the age of four and, as a fifteen-year-old high school freshman in 1996, had started an internet business with four friends.[8] He attended Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, and earned BA and JD degrees from the University of Michigan.

Career

Political campaigns

After working as a field organizer for the Michigan Democratic Party in the 2000 presidential election, and then on John Kerry’s campaign for president in 2004, Simon joined Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign as the analytics director, based in the Chicago headquarters. As a part of this campaign, he managed stockpiles of data on voter behavior and preferences.[9] His strategy of precision targeting has been credited with helping to identify undecided voters who could be courted by Obama.[7] [10] Following the campaign, he was appointed in 2009 to serve in the Obama administration at the Department of Health and Human Services, where he focused on healthcare reform and Medicare.[11]

Simon has been a guest speaker at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the World Economic Forum of Young Global Leaders.[12]

HaystaqDNA

In 2013, Simon co-founded HaystaqDNA, where he worked with commercial and advocacy clients to utilize technology to identify targeted individuals using predictive analytics. This also involves matching public posts from social media on political issues such as health care to refine targeting of voters.[13] As co-founder and president of HaystaqDNA, Simon was active in gaining data and interviewing US voters on subjects like gun safety and energy use.[14] [15] In December 2015, he joined CBS Radio as a senior advisor, to enhance their overall data analytics capabilities.[16]

Elucd

Simon co-founded technology startup Elucd (pronounced e-loo-cid, as in "elucidate"),[7] which launched in 2016 and is based in Brooklyn, New York.[7] [17] He serves as CEO of the data analytics firm, which provides cities with an understanding of how citizens feel about their local government.[18] [19] By early 2018, the company had raised $1 million in a seed round backed by the Y Combinator accelerator, and the Omidyar Network.[17]

The New York Police Department first approached Simon in 2014 to see if it were possible to measure public approval of local police.[7] In 2016, Elucd began developing the underlying technology that became Elucd in collaboration with the NYPD.[7] [10] Elucd uses surveys obtained through digital advertisements to measure public perception of safety and police, providing real-time statistics. It was introduced by the NYPD in 2017.[7] [10] [20] Elucd has also worked with the Chicago Police Department, Grand Rapids Police Department, and South Bend Police Department.[7] [18]

Works

Notes and References

  1. News: Madhani. Aamer. White House raises concerns about data discrimination. 25 March 2015. USA Today. 2 May 2014.
  2. News: Obama Campaign Shared '08 Polling With Silver. 25 March 2015. BuzzFeed. 5 September 2012.
  3. Book: Issenberg. Sasha. The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. 11 September 2012. Crown/Archetype. 9780307954817. 25 March 2015.
  4. News: Nixon. Ron. U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings. 25 March 2015. New York Times. 14 April 2011.
  5. News: Reid J. Epstein. Pols' Picks: Prognosticators Boost View of GOP Senate Chances. 25 March 2015. Wall Street Journal. 17 October 2014.
  6. News: Javers. Eamon. Inside the wacky world of weird data: What's getting crunched. 25 March 2015. CNBC. 12 February 2014.
  7. News: Weichselbaum . Simone . How a 'Sentiment Meter' Helps Cops Understand Their Precincts . Wired . July 16, 2018.
  8. News: FRANKLIN BANK FIRES UP SEAHOLM HIGH COMPUTER LAB. 25 March 2015. thefreelibrary.com.
  9. Book: Frayne. James. Meet the People: Why businesses must engage with public opinion to manage and enhance their reputations. 9 September 2013. Harriman House. 978-0857192578. 25 March 2015.
  10. News: Scott . Amy . The tech tool for police accountability that's like "Yelp for cops" . Marketplace . July 24, 2018.
  11. Web site: Quadrangle. law.umich.edu. University of Michigan Law School. 25 March 2015. 35.
  12. Web site: Michael Simon. crainsdetroit.com. 25 March 2015.
  13. News: Varon. Elana. Voter Data: What the Candidates Know About You. 25 March 2015. Mashable. 2 October 2012.
  14. News: Fitzpatrick. Jack. Giffords's Gun-Control Group Plots Path Forward After Rough 2014 Debut. 25 March 2015. National Journal. 1 March 2015.
  15. News: Fitzpatrick . Jack . Giffords's Gun-Control Group Plots Path Forward After Rough 2014 Debut . The Atlantic . March 1, 2015.
  16. News: CBS Radio Nets Obama Campaign Vet. . Inside Radio . December 23, 2015.
  17. News: Elucd, a Community Pollster for Police, Raises $1M Seed Round . Government Technology . January 8, 2018.
  18. News: Bailey . Jonathan . Survey shows low trust in the South Bend Police Department . ABC57 . July 18, 2019.
  19. News: Shieber . Jonathan . Elucd's polling pushes for greater community accountability for police . TechCrunch . August 21, 2017.
  20. News: Baker . Al . Updated N.Y.P.D. Anti-Crime System to Ask: 'How We Doing?' . New York Times . May 8, 2017.
  21. Web site: AOC wants to cancel those who worked for Trump. Good luck with that, they say. . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529092815/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/09/aoc-cancel-worked-for-trump-435293 . 2023-05-29 . live .
  22. Serge Grossman. Michael Simon. And Congress Shall Know the Truth: The Pressing Need for Restructuring Congressional Oversight of Intelligence. Harvard Law and Policy Review. 2. 2008. 25 March 2015.