Gavin Rozzi, MS, CPM
Government Technology & Operations Leader | State Capacity Builder
Professional Summary
Government technology executive who builds state capacity through technical execution. At NJ DCA, transitioned critical systems from external contractors to in-house teams while delivering modern digital services to 9 million residents. Led insourcing that reduced vendor dependency and improved service delivery for programs including contact center modernization and statewide housing compliance tools.
Previously founded OPRAmachine (75,000+ public records requests processed) and created zipcodeR, an R package cited in Nature and Cancer Discovery with 53+ peer-reviewed references. Combines hands-on technical expertise with policy implementation experience, turning legislative mandates into production systems that serve vulnerable populations.
2025 Governor's Team of Excellence Award
Recognition from NJ Civil Service Commission for A4-S50 affordable housing implementation
Experience
Director, DHCR Data Center
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs- Built in-house civic technology and web development team from scratch, delivering production applications including the NJ Eviction Guide, Bringing Veterans Home website, and NJ HOMES planning tools
- Secured $11 million FY 2027 budget allocation for the Bringing Veterans Home initiative, whose infrastructure is now advancing through permanent legislative codification (S-1838, passed the full Senate, pending in the Assembly)
- Designed the by-name-list data infrastructure that let 6 regional hubs reach and sustain Functional Zero veteran homelessness (July 2026), externally validated by Community Solutions
- Led Operation Right Answer, the customer service modernization program that replaced thirteen program-by-program phone queues with one contact center and a service scorecard, in partnership with the NJ Innovation Authority
- Developed NJ HOMES Choice Tool enabling all 564 municipalities to implement A4-S50 affordable housing requirements
- Reduced municipal reporting time by 70% through process modernization and automation
- Recipient of Governor's Team of Excellence Award (2025) for affordable housing implementation
Principal Consultant & Founder
39 North Labs, LLC- Founded consulting practice serving government and nonprofit clients on data strategy, operational improvement, and digital service delivery
- Conducted spatial analysis of opioid crisis data (GIS/statistical methods) to inform policy response; delivered findings to executive leadership
- Designed data pipelines, dashboards, and records management systems for clients transitioning from manual to data-driven operations
Lecturer, Master of Public Informatics
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School- Designed and taught graduate-level Data Visualization course training next generation of civic technologists and government data professionals
Founding Data Scientist
Rutgers Urban & Civic Informatics Lab- Established the technical infrastructure and analytical practice for a university research center
- Bridged computational methods with urban policy research under executive dean's office
- Developed spatial analysis tools and data pipelines for policy research
Research Affiliate
New Jersey State Policy Lab- Led research project examining opioid crisis through advanced spatial data analysis
- Applied GIS and statistical modeling to inform state-level policy interventions
Graduate Research Assistant
William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, Stockton University- Co-authored "The Underground Construction Economy in New Jersey" — secured data-sharing agreement with NJ Department of Labor
- Conducted econometric analysis quantifying the state's underground labor market for policymakers and labor leaders
Founder
OPRAmachine- Founded New Jersey's first statewide freedom of information platform
- Processed 75,000+ public records requests and released 250GB of government data
- Serves journalists, researchers, advocates, and citizens across 565 government agencies
Education
Master of Science in Data Science & Strategic Analytics
2020Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
2018Certified Public Manager (CPM)
Aug 2026Nationally recognized public management credential. Capstone project: Operation Right Answer, which replaced thirteen siloed phone queues in the State's largest housing division with one purpose-built contact center and a service scorecard for measuring the resident experience.
Key Projects
OPRAmachine
New Jersey's first statewide OPRA request platform. 75,000+ requests processed, 250GB data released, 565 agencies covered.
zipcodeR
Open-source R package for ZIP code analysis. 122,000+ total CRAN downloads, 53+ peer-reviewed citations including Nature and Cancer Discovery.
Bringing Veterans Home
Statewide data infrastructure supporting NJ's veteran homelessness initiative, which reached Functional Zero across 6 regional hubs in July 2026.
NJ Eviction Guide
Built by my in-house web development team: interactive bilingual self-help tool connecting vulnerable residents to housing assistance and legal resources.
Municipal Lead Reporting Portal
Statewide compliance platform capturing residential lead-paint inspection data for all 564 NJ municipalities.
NJ Civil Service Navigator
Civic technology platform making 6,740+ NJ civil service job specifications searchable with career path visualization, resume matching, and job posting generation.
NJ HOMES Choice Tool
Interactive planning platform enabling all 564 municipalities to implement A4-S50 affordable housing requirements with scenario simulation and compliance tracking.
Skills
Technical
- R Programming & Statistics
- Python
- React / TypeScript / JavaScript
- Full-Stack Development
- AI / Machine Learning
- GIS / Spatial Analysis (QGIS)
- Cloud (Azure, AWS, Databricks)
- PostgreSQL / SQL
- Linux Server Administration
- Git & Version Control
Domain Expertise
- Digital Transformation
- Civic Technology
- Data Science & Analytics
- Government Operations
- Housing Policy
- Veterans Services
- Public Records Law
- Open Data
Leadership
- Team Building
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Cross-functional Collaboration
- Strategic Planning
- Change Management
Awards & Recognition
Governor's Team of Excellence Award
New Jersey Civil Service CommissionFirst Place, GIS Mapping Contest
New Jersey Department of Environmental ProtectionExcellence in Local News Award
New Jersey Press FoundationSpeaking & Presentations
The Real Cost of NIMBY: The Economic Development Case for Affordable Housing
30th Annual Governor's Conference on Housing and Economic Development — Atlantic City, NJAI in Higher Education Panel
Stockton University — The Power of Public Colleges & Universities ConferenceRe-envisioning Housing Data Panel
Monarch Housing Associates Annual ConferenceFrom Prompt to Public Service: AI Use Cases in Government
CoPPER (Community of Practice for Public Evaluation and Research)Introduction to GitHub for Analytics
Rutgers Bloustein School — Intelligent Informatics Webinar SeriesProfessional Affiliations
Board of Directors (Former)
NJ Foundation for Open Government 2023 - 2026New Jersey's leading nonprofit advancing government transparency. Volunteer board position; oversaw staff, finances, and policy priorities including public records access and open data advocacy.
State Team Member, Eviction Data Response Network
New America, Future of Land and Housing (1 of 11 states selected) 2026 - 2028Member
IBEW Local 30 2026 - PresentMember
American Society for Public Administration, NJ Chapter 2026 - PresentElected Member
Burlington County Democratic Committee — Florence Township (Ward 3, District 2) 2026 - PresentNotary Public
State of New Jersey 2015 - PresentSelected Publications
zipcodeR: Advancing the analysis of spatial data at the ZIP code level in R
Software Impacts (2021) — 53+ peer-reviewed citationsThe first statewide, open access dataset tracking public records requests in New Jersey
Data in Brief (2020)njtr1: An R package for researching road safety using open crash data
Software Impacts (2021)Research cited in Nature, Cancer Discovery, Environmental Research, and JAMIA Open. View full publications list →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Gavin Rozzi's current role?
Gavin Rozzi is the founding Director of the DHCR Data Center at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, where he built an in-house civic technology team delivering applications like the NJ Eviction Guide, Bringing Veterans Home, and NJ HOMES planning tools.
What credentials does Gavin Rozzi hold?
Gavin Rozzi holds an M.S. in Data Science & Strategic Analytics (4.0 GPA) and a B.A. in Political Science (3.9 GPA) from Stockton University, along with the Certified Public Manager (CPM) credential, awarded in August 2026 by the New Jersey program administered by the Civil Service Commission and delivered by Rutgers SPAA. His CPM capstone, Operation Right Answer, replaced thirteen siloed phone queues in the State's largest housing division with one purpose-built contact center and a service scorecard for measuring the resident experience.
Can I download Gavin Rozzi's resume?
Yes. This page includes a save/print button that generates a print-ready PDF-style version of Gavin Rozzi's resume directly from the browser.
What is Gavin Rozzi's professional background?
Gavin Rozzi has led government technology, digital transformation, and service-delivery modernization at NJ DCA, where the in-house team he built delivered the NJ Eviction Guide, Bringing Veterans Home, and the NJ HOMES Choice Tool. He also founded the consulting practice 39 North Labs, taught data visualization as a lecturer at Rutgers' Bloustein School, and founded OPRAmachine, New Jersey's first statewide public records request platform.
Is Gavin Rozzi open to new opportunities?
Gavin Rozzi is open to leadership, consulting, and speaking opportunities in government technology and civic data. Visit gavinrozzi.com/contact to get in touch.