Tammy Zhang

Tammy joined the Growth Lab’s Digital Development & Design team in August 2025. As a front-end developer, she supports the user interface implementation of the Lab’s web applications and digital tools.

Tammy is particularly interested in collaborating with researchers to communicate their work through interactive data visualization. Previously, she worked as a front-end developer on visualization projects with scientists from the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Water Institute, and Louisiana State University; she also curated digital media and edited maps at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for several years. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in information science from Cornell University.

Robert Christie

Robert Christie started with the Growth Lab in March 2022 as a Front-End Developer. At the Lab, Robert leads the front-end development of web applications at the Growth Lab with a focus on interactive data visualization and cartography. Previously, he worked on supply chain products at S&P Global. Robert attended university at the McGill School of Environment and the University of Toronto School of Information.

Ellie Jackson

Ellie Jackson joined Harvard’s Growth Lab as a back-end developer in 2023. She brings 9 years of experience of implementing and building digital tools for complex and highly regulated industries. She is interested in using data informed insights and human-centered design to develop digital tools that empower communities. At the Growth Lab, Ellie develops, maintains, and optimizes the back-end architecture and infrastructure across its portfolio of digital tools.

Prior to the Growth Lab, Ellie completed a master’s in public policy and computer Science at the University of Chicago where she spent the summer working at BallotReady as a data engineer. Before her master’s program, Ellie worked in the healthcare industry for 7 years as a product manager at CVS Health and a consultant at Huron. While at CVS Health she patented technology which improved patient safety for the senior living population.

Nil Tuzcu

Nil Tuzcu is an award-winning creative technologist and multimedia designer working at the intersection of information design, data-driven storytelling, and digital humanities. In her multidisciplinary practice, she translates data into engaging visual narratives to make complex political, economic, and geographical data accessible to the public.

Her projects were nominated for the Information is Beautiful Awards three times and won a best data visualization award by the Digital Humanities Awards. She is the creator of Istanbul Urban Database, a comprehensive multimedia archive of Istanbul, which has been recognized by leading institutional organizations and media outlets. She has spoken at numerous events and institutions, including European Union, Harvard University, Duke University, Northeastern University, and !F International Film Festival.

Originally trained as an architect at Cornell University, she attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was trained in information technologies and urban policy. She currently leads the information design at Harvard University’s Growth Lab digital projects.

Brendan Leonard

Brendan is a Backend Developer and Data Specialist on the Growth Lab’s development team. He supports CID’s research and software development initiatives through back-end technologies and data analysis. This work includes API enhancements, data ingestion, and solving ad hoc R&D problems. Before joining CID, he worked on the data science team of Numerated Growth Technologies, a financial technology startup in Boston.

Brendan graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. While at UNC, he helped manage the Carolina For The Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting the families of UNC Children’s Hospital. In his free time, he enjoys reading, theater, traveling, and cooking.

Annie White

Annie is the Director of Software Tools at Harvard’s Growth Lab. With over 12 years of experience in sustainable development, research and software products, she is interested in how digital products can help solve global development challenges. At the Growth Lab, Annie is responsible for the development of the International Atlas of Economic Complexity, along with various sub-national Atlases, from research to design, development and launch.

Prior to joining the Growth Lab, she was the Director of Digital Product at Sustainalytics, a global environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and analytics firm. At Sustainalytics she successfully launched an ESG risk and analysis software platform used by analysts and investors globally. Before Sustainalytics, she was a policy analyst with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Annie holds a master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Glasgow and is a certified Product Manager and Scrum Product Owner.