Sabrina-Rodriguez-Portfolio

Home Page Projects On Tableau Visualizing Government Debt Critique By Design Drafting Final Project Idea Refining Final Project Final Project

Portfolio

This portfolio was created as part of 94-870: Telling Stories with Data to demonstrate my ability to translate complex information into clear, compelling visual narratives. Throughout the course, I learned how to move beyond simply presenting numbers to think critically about how data can inform, persuade, and drive social impact.

My portfolio highlights the full process of storytelling with data: from refining messy datasets and identifying bias or gaps, to designing visuals that communicate patterns with precision and empathy. Each project reflects a different stage of my growth as a data storyteller—how I analyze, critique, and communicate evidence effectively. At a deeper level, this portfolio represents my interest in using data visualization as a tool for public policy and social justice. Whether mapping environmental burdens or revealing inequities across communities, my goal is to make data accessible and actionable.

Together, these works showcase not only my technical skills in visualization and analysis but also my broader commitment to using data responsibly to amplify underrepresented stories and guide more equitable decision-making.

About me

screenshot_sabrina

As a first-generation Afro-Latina, I have personally witnessed the barriers immigrant families face in accessing healthcare, particularly due to concerns about citizenship status. This experience has fueled my passion for advocating for equitable healthcare solutions.

At Allegheny College, I combined my interest in technology and policy through research projects, including a comparative analysis of peacekeeping efforts and the development of a data management program for educational resources.

Currently, as a student at Carnegie Mellon University, I am focused on exploring the intersection of policy, technology, and healthcare. My primary interest lies in the ethical application of AI to enhance healthcare access for underserved communities. I am eager to collaborate with professionals who share a commitment to public service and social justice to drive impactful change.

I am always eager to connect with professionals and organizations dedicated to driving social impact and advancing equity.

Learn more about my other projects: Linkedin Profile

In-Class Demos

Assignment: Visualizing Government Debt

This project redesigns a simple holiday spending chart into a multi-line visualization showing how Americans have increasingly prioritized family over friends and coworkers in their gift spending from 2004 to 2021.

Assignment: Critique By Design

From 2004 to 2021, U.S. holiday gift spending increasingly centered on family while purchases for friends and coworkers declined, a shift clarified by a category-focused line chart with key-year annotations.

Final project Explanation

My project examines how industrial siting decisions disproportionately impact Black, low-income communities. Across the United States, dozens of new petrochemical projects, often cited as roughly 70, are concentrated in places like Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. I focus on how these facilities cluster alongside demographic vulnerability and what that means for community health and well-being. Parish or tract-level reproductive disorder data are limited, so I pivot to defensible proxies and exposure metrics: facility locations and emissions, cumulative environmental burden, and neighborhood demographics. The goal is to make visible where risk concentrates, who lives there, and how policy can respond.

What the Tabs Show The three tabs above walk through my process step by step: how I scoped the problem and framed the research questions, how I gathered and cleaned the data, and how I translated findings into visuals and policy-relevant insights. Together, they show my workflow from idea to evidence to action.