Aaron Kessler

About Aaron Kessler

Aaron Kessler is an award-winning journalist, data scientist and project leader specializing in investigative reporting and data analysis at the intersection of business and politics. He has more than a decade of experience as a data journalist, beat reporter and newsroom innovator covering a range of complex government and business subjects including health care, finance, technology, transportation, housing, education and politics.Aaron doubles as both a seasoned shoe-leather reporter and writer, as well as an industry-leading data practitioner and coder - using those combined skills to discover stories, uncover new knowledge and share the truth behind critical issues of public importance.He\'s especially a fan of R, though uses a wide range of data tools and programming structures, and loves conceptualizing and building data-driven interactive experiences for news audiences.Additionally, he\'s led projects and initiatives to develop more innovative journalism workflows and to create tools aimed at harnessing the power of code within the newsroom. Aaron is also a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) who believes self-organized, empowered teams can fuel innovation not just in technology-driven settings but also for news reporting projects. He completed the elite Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Business & Economics Journalism - one year of full-time MBA coursework at Columbia Business School for rigorous training in management, leadership and business strategy.He teaches data journalism at The George Washington University, and is a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors where he frequently speaks and leads training sessions at its national conferences. Aaron is also an active member of the National Press Club, Project Management Institute, Scrum Alliance and Society of American Business Editors & Writers.Among the journalism honors his work has been fortunate enough to receive are the: Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism (Finalist); Livingston Award for Young Journalists (Finalist); Society of American Business Editors & Writers Best in Business Award; Society of Environmental Journalists Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting; Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Award; National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy Award (regional).

Experience

1. Data and Investigative Journalist

   The Associated Press

   Feb 2022 — Present · Washington, DC, US

Education

• Washington University in St. Louis

  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

• Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism

  Master’s Degree, Business and Economics Journalism

  2013 — 2014

• University of Missouri-Columbia

  M.A., Journalism

Skills

• Web Analytics
• Sql
• Partnership-Building
• Social Network Analysis
• Editorial
• News Writing
• Data Management
• Json
• Regression Analysis
• Github
• Blogging
• Javascript
• Business Analysis
• Mentoring
• Leadership
• Investigative Reporting
• Social Media
• Online Journalism
• Start-Up Ventures
• Copy Editing
• Journalism
• Jquery
• Video Editing
• Web Applications
• Real Estate
• Teaching
• Entrepreneurship
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Editing
• Storytelling
• Computer-Assisted Reporting
• Event Management
• Team Building
• Audience Development
• Non-Linear Editing
• Newspapers
• Valuation Modeling
• Public Speaking
• Digital Photography