Meet Andy Thomas, the President of Friends of Marshall Magnet and Stat Geek

 

Website/Blog: http://www.gojmm.org/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FOJMM

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-thomas-aa45004

Describe what your organization does

Friends of the Marshall Magnet is a community of parents seeking to share information and raise money to help our high school teachers and students with a variety of needs.

How do you make a living?

I do educational research, evaluation and data analysis. My clients are school districts and educational organizations or research and evaluation firms.

What made you decide to do this?

Step-by-step, job-by-job, I ended up here. I moved from working at UCLA, to getting my PhD in urban education, to becoming a statistician, to starting my own firm.

What was it like when you first started?

Fun. Get to work on lots of great community projects with committed people.

What has surprised you most about this endeavor?

That I could do statistics. I was always a humanities kinda person.

What does a statistician do?

Statisticians typically do the following: Decide what data are needed to answer specific questions or problems. Determine methods for finding or collecting data. Design surveys, experiments, or opinion polls to collect data. Collect data or train others to do so. Analyze and interpret data Report conclusions from their analyses.

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had while doing this?

It led me to running for school board. That was memorable.

Do you have any exciting plans for the future that you want people to know about?

Working hard to raise money for John Marshall High. I think that school has a bright future in the community. We have to get the repairs done and ramp up the educational offerings.

What is something most people don't know about you?

I'm from Reno.

Who are some of your business idols and role models? And why?

Malcolm McLean. He invented modern container shipping and changed everything.

What do you love about this neighborhood?

Originally, it was the art and music scene; it's morphed into a great integrated family community. Plus Trader Joes.

What are your favorite places to go in the neighborhood?

Run around the reservoirs, Silver Lake Farmer's Market, Furthur.