Please help us welcome a new addition to our growing team, Richard Funkhouser!

As the Research & Evaluation Manager for Visible Network Labs, Richard works with our partners to help them understand and catalyze their networks of interest and promote stronger outcomes in their work via a collective action approach.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Where to start! I came to VNL from a career as a technical specialist mostly doing US government-funded international programs in Washington, DC, where I still live. I wore a lot of hats for that—managing programs, facilitating workshops, collecting and managing data—but all the while I was really lucky to learn about and build up my skills for social network analysis, which is why I came to VNL ultimately, to do that work full-time. I studied conflict resolution and international policy in graduate school and I feel like network analysis really brings a lot of those fields, whether it’s helping people in low-resource environments leverage their networks for innovative development solutions, shoring up social resilience so that communities don’t collapse in conflict situations, or other interesting, community-driven solutions to persistent, complicated problems.

What is your new position and what do you hope to accomplish in it?

I am a Research and Evaluation Manager on the Data Science team. I think of myself as someone who has been building up a practice in social network analysis on their own, in spaces where it’s both out-of-the-ordinary but also already a buzzword, so I’m really excited to be working on a team where it’s what we’re all doing and there’s a lot of passion. It will be great to learn from everyone, and I hope also pull new and different approaches to share out of my own bag of tricks!

Who is a significant mentor in your life?

I really look up to my older sister. She’s always followed her passion in life and made a career for herself in computer games, which is not easy in such a male-dominated field. She’s also a stone-cold professional in a way people don’t always give her credit for, I try to channel that energy when I want to be serious at work.

Where is your favorite place to visit on vacation?

Northern Spain. I grew up there a bit as a kid, so I have some very close friends and old memories of these places that seem really familiar but at the same time are so different from my life today. It’s a great place to go for a reality check.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and why?

Super Empathy. I want to really be able to understand people and meet them where they are.

What do you enjoy doing away from work?

I like eating, cooking, theater, TV, movies, books, music—all kinds of media. I find it really satisfying being able to recommend exactly the right thing to someone, so, you know—if it’s beer, you’ve got to know all the beer; if it’s comics, you have to do a lot of reading; &c. Maybe that’s a bit of a game I play with myself, trying to gauge people’s taste well and bring value to them that way. I love board games! I design a lot of board games in my spare time, although I haven’t published anything yet. I also really like being out in nature—identifying trees and birds, going for hikes, kayaking—but honestly I don’t get out enough for it.

Find more about Richard and the rest of VNL Team here!