About Us

The PWWB Project Team consists of a Principal Investigator, Dawn Comer Executive Officer of the Office of Finance, Operations and Innovation, City of Los Angeles; Co-Investigator, Dr. Mohammad Pourhomayoun, founder and director of the AI and Data Science Research Lab at California State University Los Angeles; Chris Hagerbaumer, Executive Director of OpenAQ, and collaborators across the City of L.A. and beyond.

California State University Los Angeles

Dr. Mohammad Pourhomayoun

Dr. Mohammad Pourhomayoun, Co-Investigator

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, California State University Los Angeles

Dr. Pourhomayoun has over 10 years of experience in research and development of predictive analytics, machine learning, deep learning, and big data for science and engineering applications. He is the founder and director of AI and Data Science Research Lab at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA). He has led more than 25 research projects in predictive analytics and machine learning for healthcare, ecology, and urban problems.

Emmanuel Cocom

Emmanuel Cocom

Graduate student, Computer Science, California State University Los Angeles.

Research Assistant with expertise in machine learning and deep learning, specifically in convolutional neural networks for big data with spatial pattern/correlation.

Kevin Marlis

Kevin Marlis

Graduate Student, Computer Science, California State University Los Angeles.

Research Assistant with expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and predictive analytics.

Pratyush Muthukumar

Pratyush Muthukumar

Undergrad student, Computer Science, California State University Los Angeles.

Research Assistant with expertise in machine learning and deep learning, specifically in RNN/LSTM for big data with temporal pattern/correlation.

Justine West

Justine West

Graduate Student, Computer Science, California State University Los Angeles.

Research Assistant with expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and predictive analytics.

City of Los Angeles

Jeanne Holm

Jeanne Holm, Principal Investigator

Deputy Mayor, City of Los Angeles; Distinguished Instructor, UCLA

Ms. Holm has recently been appointed the Deputy Mayor of the Office of Budget and Innovation for the City of Los Angeles, after serving as the Chief Data Officer, Deputy CIO and Senior Technology Advisor to the Mayor. In this role she will continue overseeing a program in data and predictive analytics. Her extensive work in applied data science at NASA, the White House, and the World Bank focuses on creating data architectures that integrate emergent technologies such as machine learning to deliver value on the ground to governments around the world.

Dawn M. Comer

Dawn M. Comer, Project Manager

Director, Technology Inclusion, City of Los Angeles

Dawn has over 15 years consulting experience in technology, business strategy, solution development, and marketing and communications consulting. She worked on the City’s Smart City strategy, led the implementation of the City’s open data platform on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, and is leading Digital Inclusion efforts. She conducts research, identifies and federates data, and develops strategies and applied IT solutions for issues ranging from air quality, climate action, economic and digital equity, health, and environmental monitoring.

Marta Segura

Marta Segura, City Collaborator

Environmental Justice Engagement Advisor, City of Los Angeles

Segura is both the Director of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office and will serve as the Executive Director to the Commission for the same.  The Commission's first step is to develop and execute an Equitable Climate Action Roadmap (ECAR),  accelerating the City’s climate change mitigation goals. The Office, in alignment with the LA's Green New Deal, will work to identify and enact equitable strategies and policies to prevent, mitigate and undo impacts from pollution and economic disinvestments from our past  and to ensure that frontline communities have a strong voice in policy and decision-making in the City of Los Angeles. 

Open AQ

Chris Hagerbaumer

Chris Hagerbaumer

Executive Director, OpenAQ

OpenAQ brings data expertise and public outreach experience to the project and is assisting the team with data aggregation and normalization as well as workshop development and execution. Chris joined OpenAQ in early 2022 and has more than two decades of experience forwarding policy solutions to air pollution and climate change, including engaging community-based organizations.

Russ Biggs

Russ Biggs

Lead Software Engineer, OpenAQ

Russ enhances the OpenAQ Platform, designs and implements the organization’s technical strategy, and amplifies OpenAQ’s impact in communities worldwide. He has worked across a variety of sectors including archaeology, international humanitarian assistance, and climatology. Previously, Russ was a software engineer with SharedStreets building open source and open hardware tools to help enable cities to better access their transport data. He has also held positions with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), building tools to help improve OpenStreetMap, and Statistical Research Inc., developing tools to improve digital data collection for archaeological field work. Russ has a Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems and a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from The University of Arizona. 

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