Data Science CoP Speaker Invitation Networking Guide
A practical playbook for finding and booking mission‑aligned data science speakers in Los Angeles
Why this guide exists. The Data Science Community of Practice (DS CoP) at Hack for LA advances social impact and civic tech by learning from professionals who ship data products that improve public services, equity, and access—especially for under‑resourced communities in LA.
What success looks like.
- A consistent pipeline of speakers (monthly or every 6–8 weeks)
- Talks that are practical, LA‑relevant, and skill‑building (data engineering, ML for public services, open data, AI in gov, responsible AI)
- Diverse representation across roles, industries, and lived experience
- Clear run‑of‑show, consent, and follow‑up for repeat engagement
Prioritize people who…
- Work at the intersection of data + public sector/civic tech (city/county/state agencies, gov contractors, Code for America brigades, public media, public health, transportation, homelessness services, justice system, climate, education).
- Deliver hands‑on demos/case studies: open data pipelines, dashboards for decision‑makers, model deployment in constrained environments, RAG for public information, fairness/interpretability in production.
- Represent Los Angeles institutions: City of LA, LA County, LA Metro, LAHSA, LAUSD, USC, UCLA, local non‑profits, journalism, community orgs.
- Can speak to ethical & equitable data use, responsible AI, and community engagement.
Sample roles to target: Data/ML engineers, applied scientists, analytics engineers, civic data officers, geospatial analysts, data journalists, public health data leads, academic lab leads, non‑profit data directors, responsible AI practitioners.
Use these prospecting channels weekly; capture everything in the tracker (see §9).
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Civic Tech & Open Data
- City of LA Open Data & GeoHub (project owners, dataset publishers)
- LA County Open Data (publishers, program leads)
- City Planning/Open Data pages (authors of datasets, PMs)
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Universities & Labs (research → practice speakers)
- UCLA: Statistics & Data Science, Data Science Education initiatives, Library Data Science Center
- USC: Data Science (Viterbi), Applied Data Science, CS Data Science
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Meetups & Communities (tap organizers & recent presenters)
- AI LA, LA Machine Learning, Python Data Science LA, Women in ML/DS (WiMLDS LA), ODSC LA, LA‑area Data/AI meetups
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Civic Tech Network
- Code for America Brigade network (organizers & showcase project leads)
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LinkedIn/GitHub/Twitter
- Search for LA‑based data folks mentioning City/County datasets, public interest tech, or non‑profit analytics; look at recent talk posts or pinned repos.
LinkedIn (People search)
("data scientist" OR "data engineer" OR "machine learning" OR "analytics engineer") AND ("Los Angeles" OR LA) AND ("city" OR "county" OR "public" OR "nonprofit" OR "civic tech" OR "open data")("geospatial" OR GIS) AND (transit OR “LA Metro” OR planning) AND (Los Angeles)
Google (speaker discovery)
site:meetup.com (Los Angeles) (data science OR machine learning OR AI) speakerssite:*.edu (Los Angeles) (data science) seminar calendarsite:medium.com (Los Angeles) (open data OR civic tech)
GitHub
topic:"open-data" location:"Los Angeles" language:Python- Search repos that reference
data.lacity.org,data.lacounty.gov, or LA Metro GTFS; check contributors.
Slack/Discord
- Ask in AI LA/DS meetups’ channels and HfLA Slack for referrals (focus on mission + audience).
- Be specific about audience, impact, and requested topic.
- Lead with give‑first value (visibility, community impact, recording, feedback, connections).
- Warm intros beat cold: ask HfLA volunteers, alumni, and partner orgs to introduce.
- Short messages with a clear ask + two time options.
- Close the loop: if no response, send 2 gentle nudges over 10–14 days, then park and revisit in 60 days.
A) Warm Intro (email/LinkedIn)
Hi [Name] — I help organize Hack for LA’s Data Science Community of Practice (volunteer civic tech in LA). We loved your work on [project/talk], and our members (students to senior practitioners) build data tools for social impact. Would you be open to a 30–40 min talk + Q&A on [proposed topic] this month or next? We’d highlight your work, share recording/slides (if you’re comfortable), and connect you with practitioners using LA City/County data. A couple options: [Tue, mm/dd 6pm PT] or [Thu, mm/dd 6pm PT]. If easier, I can send a short brief + sample questions. Thank you!
B) Cold Outreach (tight ask)
Hi [Name], your post on [topic] caught our eye. I co‑lead Hack for LA’s DS CoP (non‑profit civic tech). Could we host you for a 30‑min practical talk on [topic → civic angle] for ~30–60 volunteers? We’ll manage everything (Zoom, Q&A, comms) and share attendee questions in advance. Two options: [date/time] or [date/time].
C) Meetup Speaker Follow‑up
Loved your [Meetup/Event] talk on [topic]. Would you be up for a condensed, community‑focused version for Hack for LA’s DS team? We emphasize applied impact (public services, equity, LA open data). Low‑lift: 25–30 min + Q&A, friendly crowd, optional recording. Happy to send our one‑pager.
D) University/Lab Outreach
Hello [Professor/Lab/Center], we’re recruiting speakers for Hack for LA’s DS CoP. Many volunteers are early‑career and mid‑career practitioners working with LA datasets. Do you have grad students or staff who’d like to share a project (open data, geospatial, health, housing, mobility, responsible AI)? We handle logistics and can feature their work.
Use a brief form or email thread to capture:
- Title, abstract (3–5 bullet outcomes), audience level (beginner/intermediate/advanced)
- Relevance to civic impact in LA (who benefits? what changed?)
- Live demo or code/data links (if possible)
- Accessibility needs (captions, pace, materials)
- Consent preferences (recording, slide sharing)
Rubric (score 1–5): Mission fit • Practicality • LA relevance • Inclusion value • Interactivity • Speaker availability.
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T–4 weeks: Confirm topic + speaker; share example questions via GitHub issue or Google Form; create calendar hold.
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T–2 weeks: Collate questions → themes; confirm final title/abstract; draft promo (Slack, Meetup if public).
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T–1 week: Tech check (slides, demos, Zoom). Confirm recording & consent.
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Day‑of (60 min):
- 0–5: Welcome, land acknowledgment, code of conduct, talk purpose
- 5–35: Talk/demo
- 35–55: Curated Q&A (plus late questions)
- 55–60: Wrap, next steps, shout‑outs
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T+1–3 days: Share resources/recording (if consented), feedback form, thank‑you, potential follow‑up collaboration.
Stages: Prospect → Contacted → Warm lead → Booked → Confirmed → Delivered → Follow‑up → Alumni.
Sheet fields: Name • Org • Role • Channel found • Topic fit • DEI tags • Contacted on • Last touch • Status • Date held • Consent status • Notes • Referrer.
Tip: Color rows by month; keep 2–3 backups per event.
- Proactively invite voices from under‑represented groups (e.g., WiMLDS LA, community orgs). Provide honoraria when possible.
- Share a clear code of conduct and enable live captions.
- Confirm recording & sharing preferences; allow no‑recording or slide‑only sharing.
- Avoid sensitive/identifiable data in demos; promote open/public datasets.
- Building durable open‑data pipelines for city services (ETL, data contracts, dbt)
- Geospatial analytics for mobility & housing (GeoPandas, GTFS, parcel data)
- Responsible AI in government: fairness, interpretability, monitoring
- RAG & search for public information access (MCP, document stores)
- Healthcare & public health data (privacy‑preserving analytics)
- Climate & resilience dashboards; environmental justice
- Data journalism & storytelling for policy
- Default: DS Slack announcement (private Zoom)
- Optional: Public via Meetup to broaden reach (coordinate with speaker)
- Social posts tagging org/speaker; provide a share card; capture registrations & questions.
- Send a one‑pager: audience, format, timing, logistics, consent, sample questions
- Offer buddy moderator to manage chat & Q&A
- Provide post‑event thank‑you, feedback summary, and shareable highlights reel (if recorded)
- Invite to become an ongoing advisor or do a follow‑up workshop
- Consent: Speaker Consent Form (Google Form link)
- GitHub issue for Q&A collection (pre‑event)
- Run‑of‑show template (agenda + timings)
- Feedback form (2‑minute pulse: usefulness, clarity, applicability)
- Email/DM templates (see §6)
Week 1: Identify 25 prospects across channels; send 10 warm + 5 cold messages; log all. Week 2: Nudge non‑responders; shortlist 3; hold dates. Week 3: Confirm speaker; draft promo; collect questions; tech check. Week 4: Deliver event; follow up; book next speaker; update tracker.
- Civic data owners: City/County open‑data publishers (transportation, housing, public health)
- Universities: UCLA labs/centers (stats/data science, library DS Center); USC Viterbi DS/Applied DS
- Meetups/Communities: AI LA, LA Machine Learning, WiMLDS LA, Python DS LA, ODSC LA
- Non‑profits: Housing/health/justice orgs with analytics teams (case studies welcome)
Q: Who attends? A: LA‑area volunteers and friends (students → senior ICs) building public‑interest data projects. Q: Time commitment? A: ~60 min including Q&A; optional tech check. Q: Recording? A: Your choice; we’ll honor consent and can keep materials internal. Q: Compensation? A: We’re volunteer‑run. If budget allows, we may provide a modest honorarium or alternative support (promotion, connections, recruiting).
- Meeting length: 1 hour. Recommend ~30‑min talk + 20–25‑min Q&A.
- Timeline: 3–4 weeks out for question collection & theme‑ing.
- Advertising: Default to Slack; optionally list on Meetup if speaker agrees.
- Recording & materials: Use Consent Form; respect speaker preferences.
- Repository: Archive links/recordings in the DS Wiki.
Audience: Data/ML practitioners + learners in civic tech Goal: Practical, LA‑relevant skills and case studies with social impact Format: 30–35 min talk/demo + 20–25 min Q&A (Zoom) We’ll provide: Moderator, curated questions, captions, promotion assets, consent options You provide: Title, abstract, 3–5 learning outcomes, bio/headshot, any links/data
— Maintained by DS CoP Co‑Leads. Update quarterly; track prospects and outreach weekly.