About @bellopardo

I am a computational social scientist who leverages data science tools to conduct high-quality end-to-end public opinion research in the United States and abroad. I am deeply passionate about about developing actionable research insights from rigorous quantitative analysis of survey and social media data. Broadly speaking, I use data science tools to conduct public opinion research, both in my professional role as Director of Data Science at YouGov and in my personal research.

I hold a PhD in Political Science from American University. My dissertation studied the effect of online communication on offline political attitudes, with a focus on both textual and visual misinformation. Before starting my doctorate, I obtained a Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Florida International University (FIU), where I studied public opinion about marijuana legalization in Uruguay. I also obtained dual Bachelor Degrees from FIU, where I graduated magna cum laude through the Honors College, was inducted Phi Beta Kappa, and was President of the Debate Team.

Fun fact: my first involvement in applied politics happened during the 2012 Venezuelan presidential elections. I used a custom survey that was then matched to the Venezuelan electoral registry to help mobilize over 8,000 Venezuelan registered voters (out of an eligible universe of about 19,000!) The tricky thing? These voters lived across four states (FL, GA, SC, and NC) and had to go in person to vote to the closest Venezuelan consulate… which happened to be in New Orleans, LA. Want to know more? Check out this video about that mobilization!