Suniya Farooqui
About
Suniya Farooqui is the Senior Data Analyst at Heartland Alliance’s Social IMPACT Research Center. She has a strong background in mixed methods research, quantitative analysis, survey design, and has developed deep expertise in Census microdata, Heartland Alliance participant data systems, R for statistical analysis, Tableau dashboards, and data visualization. Suniya is passionate about program evaluation and human rights; and believes policy wonks can save the world by increasing equity and improving people’s quality of life.
Suniya works on projects both externally and within Heartland Alliance. Her internal work helps programs better understand participant outcomes. For instance, she analyzes data collected from Supportive Housing sites throughout Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison to help providers determine areas of need and gaps in services.
Her external projects include creating and updating robust interactive data dashboards: The Chicago Community Data Portal and the Illinois County Well-being Index. Currently, she is working on analyzing administrative data from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to understand the barriers families with young children face when accessing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Suniya also leads the data visualization for Heartland Alliance’s Signature Report (formerly known as the Annual Report on Illinois Poverty). Besides all her research work, she serves as a member of the Heartland Alliance’s Anti-Racist Committee (ARC) to support the implementation of anti-racism priorities within the organization.
Before joining IMPACT, Suniya assisted Woodstock Institute in analyzing the effect of the housing market, banking regulation trends, and limited access to financial markets on low-income communities and minority groups. Suniya honed her quantitative skills by working in rural Pakistan for the Rural Support Programmes Network’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Team. She worked on a gender-focused Institutional Assessment of the Pakistan Domestic Biogas Program and conducted a cost-benefit analysis of a community-based solid waste management project in Marri, Sargodha. She also worked at the International Rescue Committee and Neighborhood Legal Services’ Workers’ Rights and Domestic Abuse Self-Help Clinics.
Suniya has an MPP from the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures through food, baking, watching Korean dramas, reading Agatha Christie novels, and playing with her kids.