Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
-Teddy Roosevelt, 9/7/1903
I do lots of different stuff. I have always been someone who takes on more work than I can comfortably get done. In recent years I have taken the foot off the gas slightly, but I still generally have multiple projects going on at any one time.
The list below is updated irregularly. If you are interested in what I’m up to today, shoot me a message on Twitter or at the gmail account josh dot laurito.
NYC Data Newsletter
Since 2016 I have been writing a weekly-ish newsletter with links & posts for & about the NYC Data Community. It’s currently hosted here if you are interested in checking it out and subscribing.
Older Stuff (no longer involved with)
Most of my time is spent at CrowdTwist, where I am the head of data and analytics. I’m sometimes referred to as the ‘data scientist’, which I’m a little uncomfortable with. The definition of the word ‘scientist’ does not describe me or my job accurately, so I tend to shy away from it.
My work involves three main areas: designing point economies for loyalty programs, designing and producing reports that provide clear measures of program use, and developing data features. Data features can be anything from systems that detect fraudulent behavior to measurements of influence in a network.
As of January 2014, I will be teaching as an adjunct at CUNY as part of their MS in Data Analytics program. I will primarily be teaching a class on Visual Analytics. I am really excited to be working with students on a regular basis and seeing what we can do in a semester!
I am currently on the board an observer to the board of Lumesis, a company that provides software to the municipal finance industry (basically those who lend money to US cities and states). I built the initial prototype of the company’s main software offering (DIVER) before the company spun off of Ambac and became its own entity.
I am only involved in high level strategy and marketing for the firm and on data projects where domain knowledge and automated classification are necessary. I occasionally head up to Stamford to talk with the guys there as well. I am extremely proud of the team there and what they have done to make the DIVER much more robust and powerful than I ever could.
In late 2013 I started teaching a class on Data Visualization for Businesses at General Assembly, which is a great place to learn about tech and design in NYC. The class is one day and is intermittently offered.
I, along with my friends Keith and Mike, wrote a book on finance which was published by Wiley in 2011. you should check it out! If you are a reader with questions, you can contact me through the methods mentioned on the ‘about me’ page.
I am currently the Secretary of the Circumnavigators Club, a club open to anyone who has traveled across all lines of longitude. Our mission is Through Friendship, To Leave This World A Little Better Than We Found It. The organization is over 100 years old and has members all over the planet.
I completed my circumnavigation in 2003 as a Circumnavigators Club Foundation Scholar. I am hoping to complete another one in the next few years!
Until November 2011, I was a member of the Riedel Dance Theater board. I stepped down due to time commitments, but I would encourage anyone with even a passing interest in dance to check them out, as I think that their work is great.
And no, I did not dance for them (excepting this one time at the Halloween party, but I believe I have finally managed to destroy all the videos!). Trust me, it’s the best for all involved.
My father, on the side of his 3-4 different professional appointments (note: working too hard clearly runs in the family) is an amateur glass maker. You can see his work at his site, the tastefully named If Looks Could Kiln. If you like his work, drop him a comment on the site. It would make his day.