Andy Krackov, a Leading Data Strategist from the Public Sector, Joins Velir to Expand Data Storytelling Practice

We’re very excited to announce that Andy Krackov has joined Velir, as VP of Data Strategy, to help evolve our existing data visualization practice. Over the past 17 years, we have worked with organizations across a diverse number of industries to help them translate raw data into compelling visualizations and interactives that can be distributed to far-reaching audiences online. While these projects have been highly successful in increasing the accessibility and ease of engagement with the involved data, they have also shown us that there is a lot more that we can do to help our clients achieve desired actions and outcomes (e.g. informing policy and program decisions, influencing public opinion, perhaps raising funds for needed causes, etc.).

An Exciting Future for Data at Velir

The evolution of web, digital, and communication technologies has disrupted what’s possible with regard to the dissemination of data online. Research, advocacy, and other organizations that want to make an impact through the use of data, need partners who can not only help them gather and visualize these data, but also conduct audience research and create communication strategies to fundamentally transform the way they engage with their audiences and inspire change.

Having Andy come on board at Velir reflects our vision to round out our data services and take them to the next level by creating a full-fledged Data Storytelling practice. The aim of this new offering will be to help clients communicate data to achieve impact that’s crucial to their work, be it in the public or private sector.

"We plan to take a holistic view to data storytelling, recognizing the multiple areas of focus that go into achieving last mile impact - from gathering and analyzing data, and crafting the story, to visualizing it and distributing it on the channels of choice, and rallying target audiences around the message.

Andy’s qualifications align perfectly with this vision. We’re tremendously excited to have him join our team and we look forward to what this will mean for the future of data at Velir, for our clients, and for the industry at large."

— Dave Valliere, CEO

Andy Krackov, Background and Experience

Andy has developed a specialty as a data content strategist who can translate data to multiple audiences in order to inform policymaking, raise public awareness of issues, empower communities, and achieve other meaningful change.

"I remember my first foray into the world of data storytelling more for what wasn’t accomplished than for what was. Over and over, I found that there was this intractable challenge of getting communities to pay attention to data and effectively leverage facts to achieve lasting impact.

From my vantage point, a key missing ingredient is the capacity for organizations to communicate data effectively in ways that resonate with constituents they need to reach."

— Andy Krackov, VP, Data Strategy

Over the years, Andy has fine-tuned his understanding of what works to achieve impact with data through his background in communication, philanthropy, and the startup sector via the data storytelling platform, LiveStories, where he most recently was Vice President for Partnerships and Strategy. Highlights from his career include:

• Partnering with the State of California to build a nation-leading open data program to publish and encourage use of valuable health data that the state provides. He worked closely with the state in this realm, guiding $8.5 million in open data funding for the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) as a Senior Program Officer.
• Improving local government's capacity to communicate to policymakers and the public through the use of data. He managed an initiative at CHCF that funded new methods for county health departments to effectively communicate their data.
• Helping leading philanthropies promulgate data on important social topics. At the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, he helped launch and manage a pioneering Velir-built website, kidsdata.org, which introduced a number of data-related innovations to raise awareness of children’s issues. At CHCF, he guided an initiative to put health care quality data about hospitals and nursing homes in the hands of consumers.
• He has served on national and state boards related to data and written for multiple publications on the effective use of data. He also speaks at leading conferences about the topic.
• He began his work as a journalist at U.S. News & World Report, and has a bachelor’s degree in history from Washington University, as well as a master’s degree in communication theory from Stanford University.

About Velir

We are a fully-integrated digital agency based right outside of Boston, in Somerville MA. With a team of over 130 digital professionals, we are best-known for our digital work for some of the world’s largest and most influential non-profit organizations, membership associations, and Fortune 500 enterprises. Our capabilities in marketing technology and data visualization are recognized as the best in the industry, stemming from a 17-year focus on digital strategy, creative design, and web engineering and application development. We have completed complex implementations and large-scale builds for brands including Bayer, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, AARP, Yale, and Informa. We were recently selected as the “Small Business of the Year” by both the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, and have offices in Boston and Washington DC. For more information, please visit www.velir.com.