About Us
Census Outreach is a project of CommunityConnect Labs that enables government and service providers to use mobile messaging to connect with hard-to-count populations.
CommunityConnect Labs is the leading provider of training and technology solutions for nonprofits, civic organizations, and local government agencies to more effectively conduct local outreach — e.g., canvassing, volunteer recruitment, enumerator recruitment, education, and assistance to fill out the Census — for the 2020 Census. Our mission is to enable hard-to-count people to be counted accurately in the 2020 Census.
Our Partners
We’re proud to serve community-based organizations, governments, and foundations.
Our Story
CommunityConnect was created by the team behind GreatNonprofits after seeing the difficulties human services providers had connecting with low-income people. We empower our clients through technology and expertise created through inclusive, human-centered design.
We have found that the most successful way to engage communities is to meet people where they are. Our engagement solutions leverage the existing routines and channels that community members use every day.
Technology: We provide mobile-first engagement solutions — including mobile messaging, interactive voice, or mobile web.
Services: We provide strategic consulting and training to help our customers better connect and engage with marginalized communities.
Team
Perla Ni
Founder
Perla is the founder of CommunityConnect Labs, the Census Outreach Project, and GreatNonprofits. Previously, she founded the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the leading journal on nonprofit management and philanthropy. She has served on the boards of Goodwill, America’s Charities and Network for Good. Perla holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from UC Berkeley.
Jacob Model
VP of Product and Data
Jacob leads product design and data science for CommunityConnect Labs’ mobile messaging solutions. His tools for Census 2020, Earned Income Tax Credit, and utility assistance have enabled government and nonprofit organizations to reach hundreds of thousands of individuals, connect them to services, and collect data to inform organizational strategy and improve services. He has been a featured speaker for the New York Funders conference, Census Funders Subgroup convening, California’s Quarterly Census meeting, and Tech4America. Jacob holds a PhD from Stanford Graduate School of Business and BA from Harvard College.
Chyann Sapp
Assoc. Director, Government & Nonprofit Programs
Chyann Sapp leads business development across the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic regions. Previously, she worked in government relations for seven years managing special projects at the MTA and serving as the first Youth Voter Coordinator of New York City where she registered thousands of new voters. Her programming and curricula has been recognized by Mayor de Blasio and adopted citywide by the Department of Education. She holds a BA from Hunter College.
Kristin Merkel
Assoc. Director, Government & Nonprofit Programs
Kristin leads CommunityConnect Lab’s marketing and business development. She is a strategic partnerships specialist with a background in marketing solutions and is committed to affecting change and driving impact through technology. Kristin was the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Chegg and has worked with Fortune 500 companies (Microsoft, American Express, Citibank) to nonprofits to niche market brands like Angel’s Envy. She holds a BA from UCLA.
Daniel Kadvany
Product Manager
Teeh Amaral
Senior Software Engineer
Nelson Pinto
Product Manager
Alex Stefanescu
Systems Administrator
Igor Palii
Software Developer
Tatiana Pogrebetskaya
Engineering
Sam Reeve
Executive Assistant / Fundraising Support
Sahana Jayaraman
Marketing
Sterling Hardaway
Customer Success Manager
Jett Hayward
Implementation Coordinator
Michelle Centeno
Implementation Associate
Andrea Lloyd
HR & Finance Manager
Lawrence Sanfilippo
Copyeditor
Neha Paralkar
Social Media Specialist
Armi Niguidula
Administrative Assistant / Research
Vidhya Murugan
Freelance Contractor
Michael DeJesus
Customer Service
