Here is some background information about the founder of Hillcrest Advisory, Andy Krackov.

Andy Krackov

From my professional start as a journalist at a news magazine in Washington DC and then studying how people process media during graduate school at Stanford, I’ve been motivated by a desire to use communication as a tool to persuade and educate. Along the way, namely from my fifteen years guiding data outreach initiatives at two major foundations, I refined my interest in leveraging public data as a tool to activate an organization’s agenda. In December 2018, I established Hillcrest Advisory to ensure that my clients, too, can be effective communicators of data, harnessing numbers and stories to make a compelling case to constituents.

Hillcrest Advisory
President
December 2018 – Present
I established Hillcrest Advisory to help ensure those in the social sector can transform data into impact through data visualization, data storytelling and other ways to communicate effectively with numbers. My goal is to help organizations put their issues on the public agenda; educate their constituents; inspire audiences to take a stand; and strengthen community collaboration.

Velir
Vice President, Data Strategy
April 2017-November 2018
Andy managed Velir’s data storytelling practice, which worked with a diverse range of clients, from universities like Yale to associations like AARP to international consortiums that included the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization.

LiveStories
Vice President for Partnerships and Strategy
April 2016-March 2017
As a civic startup, LiveStories, a data storytelling tool, works with governments, nonprofits, philanthropies, and others in the social sector to help them better communicate and engage constituents with data. Andy’s position involved working closely with the company’s clients to leverage the LiveStories platform. Andy also developed new partnerships and helped advance new strategic directions for the company. 

California Health Care Foundation
Senior Program Officer
March 2012-April 2016
Andy guided the foundation’s Free the Data initiative. In this capacity, he invested roughly $8.5 million in projects to improve public access to health and healthcare data in California and worked with entrepreneurs, local policymakers, journalists, and nonprofits to catalyze the development of tools to help meet the growing demand for these data.

Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health
Assistant Vice President, Programs & Partnerships
October 2002-April 2012
Andy managed the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health’s data-focused communication initiatives, namely kidsdata.org, which promulgates local-level data on a wide array of topics related to child well being. The goal: to ensure this information was used across California to raise the profile of children’s issues and improve their overall health and well being.

Stanford University
Web Managing Editor
March 1997-August 2002
Andy bolstered and oversaw Stanford’s central web communication apparatus and its overall web presence, and helped the university capitalize on the burgeoning interest in online communications.

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Assistant Editor, Electronic Projects
1995-1996
Andy helped assemble an online news service for college students by assimilating content, designing the user interface, and devising methods to promote the service.

U.S. News & World Report
Researcher/Reporter/Editorial Assistant
1992-1994
Andy reported on economic policy issues, chiefly health care reform, by attending White House briefings, Congressional hearings, and press conferences with trade organizations. I also regularly wrote about education, technology/new media, travel, and the economy.

Education

Stanford University
Master’s, Communication Theory

Washington University in St. Louis
B.A., History