Meet the 2023 Fellows: Federico Dominguez Molina
Federico was a Fellow with the City of Long Beach
This blog is part of a series introducing a few of the Fellows selected to be part of Coding it Forward’s 2023 Fellowship, a cohort of 92 early-career technologists working across federal, state, and local government in data, design, product management, and software engineering roles.
About Federico
Host Office: City of Long Beach, CA - Office of Climate Action & Sustainability
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
Current Location: Chicago, IL
Academic Institution: University of Chicago
Academic Program: Masters in Computational Analysis and Public Policy
Graduation Year: 2024
Meet Federico
Our team sat down with Federico to learn more about why he spent his summer with Coding it Forward.
Coding it Forward: Tell us about yourself.
Federico Dominguez Molina: I am a 25-year-old Mexican data scientist interested in public policy topics. I studied Economics as an undergrad, where I developed an interest in statistics and development economics subjects, such as inequality, education, and public health. After undergrad, I ended up at a data science startup, where I created projects for various clients, including the Mexican government and the financial sector. I love coding, getting insights from data, and making sense of our reality from the vast amount of raw information that is now available. It feels great when someone else benefits from a data project I have worked on. Now, I want to focus on tackling social issues through data-driven projects and initiatives.
My hobbies include dance, coding side projects, and listening to music. I also enjoy walking around the city, taking pictures, and cafe hopping.
Coding it Forward: Why were you excited to be a Fellow?
FDM: I decided to be a Fellow because I wanted to put my technical skills to use in a social impact project. I enjoyed working in the private sector but also wished to contribute to solving different problems. I love the idea of helping create something that can have a broad, positive impact, and what better way to do it than via coding?
For that reason, my favorite part of the Fellowship was creating a functional product that saves the City of Long Beach from hours of data extraction. I enjoyed working with their team while developing the application and understanding their needs. Learning how local US governments operate, especially on the IT side, was very valuable.
I sincerely appreciated learning from my mentor, Allie Morgan, who advised me on several aspects of the project. We discussed the civic tech sector in the US, and she provided invaluable insights from her experience as a developer on Twitter and Code for America.
CIF: Why are you coding it forward?
FDM: I am coding it forward because pressing issues require a solid technical and data-driven approach. We can devise better solutions with the vast information and data available. If top companies are already doing it to maximize profits, why should we not empower NGOs and governments with the same data-driven strategies to tackle public policy issues? I am coding it forward to contribute, in any way possible, to propose solutions to our most pressing challenges through data.
CIF: What is a fun fact about yourself?
FDM: I took professional Hip Hop dance classes for over five years, and for a moment, I thought that would be my career. However, I later realized that, even though dance fancied me, it was not for me as a professional career.
However, I put all those dance lessons and hard work to good use during my community service. I chose to teach hip-hop dance lessons to low-income elementary and middle school children during my last year at college. I was elated to see how they tried to learn the choreography, correctly move their body, and how the dance lessons positively impacted them.
The experience was gratifying, and I decided that if I could create a positive impact with dancing, why should I not do the same with my technical or analytical toolset? Ever since I discovered data engineering and programming, I have constantly strived to have a positive impact through my technical skills. For that reason, I am coding it forward.
Applications for our 2024 Fellowship will open in the fall. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when applications will go live.
