Jake Cowan is a consultant for The Data Center. Jake has nearly 15 years of experience as an analyst, manager and leader in the nonprofit and public sectors. He has led research projects, community impact studies and program evaluations at The Urban Institute, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and The Urban Libraries Council (ULC). At ULC, Jake facilitated a national coalition of leading researchers and practitioners in developing a first-ever set of widely endorsed national technology benchmarks for all 9,000 public libraries in the US. At LISC, Jake directed technical assistance projects for MetroEdge, a national program that supports economic development in LISC’s urban program sites by connecting local community development practitioners with market research to identify economic potential, planning and development expertise and small grants to support local businesses. At The Urban Institute, Jake led projects and peer networks with the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP). Jake has an MPA from the Indiana University Bloomington and a BS in Political Science from Truman State University.
