Researcher & Analyst

providing data-driven insights from social media, secondary research, and syndicated research to inform strategies

Culture - Entertainment - Social Impact

2024 Significant Insights 30 Under 30 List Honoree

Worked With ⬎

WORK

Dell I.T. Squad Campaign

For the first time, Reddit avatars came to life and starred in an original comedy series, The I.T. Squad, helping Dell reach I.T. decision-makers through trusted, community-led conversations on Reddit.

  • Dell Technologies partnered with Reddit to establish a trusted I.T. team that engaged with IT decision-makers. This team, known as the I.T. Squad, came to life in an original comedy series, addressing real Reddit discussions and trending topics, while also leading conversations through Reddit talks and AMA sessions with experts.

    Problem: Campaign was created because of the lack of trust between business decision-makers and their enterprise providers. Additionally, traditional advertising methods have proven ineffective in reaching this audience, prompting the need to identify alternative approaches to engage this "hard to reach" audience and build trust

  • Performed social listening surrounding social media holidays to help decide launch date based on social media sentiments of the social media holidays

    Tracked the social media response and sentiment of the overall campaign and made recommendations when necessary aka the deliverer of the good and bad news surrounding the campaign

  • Dell I.T. Squad campaign won & was nominated for many awards including a Webby, Shorty & Reggie

NFL Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips Thanksgiving 2025 Event

Helped co-plan a Detroit community activation with Legacy Philanthropy, where NFL LB Del’Shawn Phillips partnered with Developing K.I.D.S. to support youth and families. The activation was shaped by local insight and addressed food insecurity.

  • Legacy Philanthropy and NFL Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips aimed to host a Thanksgiving activation in Detroit that directly addressed rising food insecurity among local families. With the holiday approaching and disruptions linked to a recent government shutdown, the need was to identify trusted food pantries and community organizations that could deliver timely, household-level support.

  • I researched and vetted Detroit-based nonprofits and food pantries, conducted cold outreach, and supported partner selection based on community trust, program alignment, and capacity. I helped shape an activation informed by local insight and on-the-ground needs.

  • Del’Shawn and the event was recognized by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) as a runner up for the 2025 Week 14 Community MVP Award

ILLUSTRATION: JIANAN LIU/HUFFPOST PHOTO: JOHNNY NUNEZ

Unlock Her Potential

Increased number of applications from 1.4K in 2021 to 2.5K in 2022

  • Unlock Her Potential is a yearlong mentorship program connecting women of color across the United States with celebrity mentors, led by screenwriter and former Wu-Tang Clan member manager Sophia Chang. As many women of color expressed disillusionment with mentorship programs that offer advice without tangible value, the challenge was to understand what truly resonated with the community. The objective was to analyze Unlock Her Potential’s content to identify themes that drove the strongest engagement and informed how the program could deliver more meaningful, actionable support.

  • Social media audit and organic post performance measurement to understand Unlock Her Potential’s current key content themes to define current strategy and what’s working and not working

    Researched universities and community-based organizations to develop a strategic outreach pipeline, enabling Unlock Her Potential to deliver programming that connected women of color to concrete opportunities, institutional support, and sustained community engagement.

    Social media listening to understand perspectives about of mentorship for women of color to inform content strategy

  • Worked with the social media team and we organically grew Instagram followers nearly 53% and Linkedin followers 271% in first year

GOOD Docs Impact & Education Campaigns

A 6 month collaboration focused on strengthening the ecosystem around social justice documentary films by connecting content with institutions positioned to sustain long-term impact.

  • The Outreach Marketing and Research team sought to strengthen national impact campaigns for newly released documentaries by identifying the right audiences and institutional partners. The objective was to grow sustainable partnerships that could expand educational distribution, increase revenue opportunities, and deepen each film’s social impact.

  • In my research and partnerships fellowship, I reviewed newly released documentaries and analyzed filmmakers’ missions to identify aligned audiences and organizations. I conducted audience segmentation, mapped high-engagement communities, and researched universities, nonprofits, and advocacy groups best positioned to support each film’s impact goals.

  • Built a pipeline of 50+ qualified partner leads across universities, nonprofits, community groups, and advocacy organizations for six documentary films, including an Oscar-winning documentary and a sports documentary

US Olympic & Paralympic Museum

Submitted a report of findings & insights into Call Two Action’s 2021 marketing & fundraising competition & won!

  • The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum (USOPM) offers an immersive and universally accessible look into the journey of Team USA’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

    Problem: Young Americans don’t feel as connected to the Olympic Movement. In response, USOPM sought actionable insights to inform the potential creation of a vibrant millennial donor society, ensuring the sustainable growth and support of Olympic endeavors among younger generation of Americans.

  • Secondary research about trends in donor society landscape, social media listening insights about people’s experiences in donor societies

  • Had the honor of my work being judged by Olympic medalists, a CNBC Contributor, and a NBA Executive

Day Africa Kenya Fieldwork

A yearlong collaboration centered on co-creating context-driven solutions by bridging community insight with applied social innovation tools.

  • As part of my master’s program at London School of Economics and Political Science, our team was tasked with supporting DAY-Africa, an NGO empowering women and youth in informal settlements and rural communities. The objective was to understand local economic realities and inform a theory of change and social business model to strengthen the organization’s impact on economic empowerment.

  • Following months of virtual collaboration, I conducted week-long field research in Nairobi, Kenya, using community engagement, interviews, and observational methods to assess local contexts and needs. I worked closely with community members and local partners to gather qualitative insights and translate lived experiences into applied research outputs.

  • Received a high grade of a Merit on Theory of Change and Social Business Model Canvas

SKILLS

  • Researching political, economic social, technological, legal, environmental cultural factors

  • Evaluating consumer preferences and industry direction

  • Ecosystem mapping of nonprofits, universities, advocacy groups, and cultural institutions

  • Vetting partners through assessment of trust, mission alignment, and community impact

Online/Secondary Research

Social Listening

  • Analyzing social media trends

  • Identifying key voices, communities, and influencers shaping narratives

  • Watching over reputation and crisis emergencies

  • Understanding sentiment

  • Measuring how much people talk about brand or person

Social Media Analytics

  • Evaluating content performance and platform KPIs

  • Competitor performance analysis and benchmarking

Qualitative Research Methods

  • Conducting interviews and stakeholder conversations

  • Conducting literature reviews to synthesize academic, industry, and policy sources and identify conceptual, methodological, and practical gaps

  • Analyzing content missions, issue areas, and movement landscapes to assess strategic fit

REFERENCES

“Jolia provided valuable insights and analytics to our small social media team that led to growth of my social enterprise. She is a talented, humble and thoughtful team player who embodies Unlock Her Potential's values of building community and coalition. Jolia's skills were truly a secret weapon to our strategies.”

— Sophia Chang | Unlock Her Potential Founder, Author, Screenwriter & Former Manager of Ol’ Dirty Bastard (RIP), RZA, GZA, Q Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Raphael Saadiq, and D’Angelo

“Collaborating with Jolia on an audience research project, her adept analysis for a prominent media outlet debunked myths, highlighted growth areas, and informed strategic recommendations. Jolia's self-directed, impactful insights validated my recommendations, fortifying our transformative final client report.”

— Amanda Reid | OCTO Impact Founder - Specializing in social impact, mission-driven brands, and audience insight