New iSchool Lecturer Michael Freeman is passionate about transforming students into skilled and independent learners who are inspired to create positive change.

“I’m excited about empowering students with technical capabilities, and exposing them to socially impactful applications of those skills,” says Freeman. “ As a self-taught developer, I’m looking forward to guiding students through the challenging and fulfilling process of learning how to code – something any student can do. Coming from the global health field, I plan to demonstrate the diverse and impactful ways of achieving social change through the use of data and technology.”

Freeman joins the iSchool with a background in public health and data visualization, including a master’s in public health with a specialization in health metrics and evaluation from the University of Washington.  He has taught for the UW Department of Global Health and holds a position as data visualization specialist for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation where he develops interactive visualizations that explore and communicate the multi-dimensional trends in health data.

In the summer of 2012, Freeman led the analysis for a project at UNICEF in Ghana to help understand the determinants of and changes in child nutrition. He presented those results at an international conference and the University of Ghana.

In addition to his master’s degree, Freeman has a B.A. in Sociology and International Affairs from Colorado College and studied health and international development in Kenya at the School for International Training.