Nicole Alford

Chief Analytics Officer

Director, Business Intelligence

Nicole Alford is the chief analytics officer with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR). She has worked with IIR since January 2013. As the chief analytics officer, Ms. Alford leads the organization’s data strategy through the integration of advanced analytics, business intelligence, and applied research to support strategic needs across IIR. She also facilitates the development of business intelligence strategies and solutions to support IIR program deliverables and corporate services. She provides technical assistance and expertise to the executive team and throughout the organization related to process improvement, data analysis, and successful execution of deliverables.

Ms. Alford has built complex analytical dashboards for federal clients, law enforcement, and prosecutors to access, analyze, and visualize various crime, federal prosecution, and data metrics. She has also designed data visualization tools to demonstrate the impact of federal funding related to the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative.

Previously, Ms. Alford managed the National Gang Center (NGC), where she provided leadership and project management to all NGC operations, including the delivery of training and technical assistance, curriculum development, virtual event coordination, resource development, and website operations. Prior to joining the NGC team, Ms. Alford worked as a manager with the Criminal Justice Initiatives (CJI) team. Within this role, Ms. Alford led the extensive coordination of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Partnerships to Address Labor Trafficking initiative program operations, including communications; technology infrastructure; material development; strategy; and the planning, coordination, and delivery of national conferences and meetings. She was instrumental in conceptualizing and building the framework and features for the PSP website, which includes a private-access project management side with a tracking mechanism to measure the progress of resources delivered to the field. Ms. Alford designed the structure and concept for the Public Safety Clearinghouse, a public, interactive, online one-stop shop for public safety resources.

Prior to working in CJI, Ms. Alford provided support for various training and focus group initiatives, including the BJA Law Enforcement Forecasting Group and the Criminal Justice Technology Forecasting Group; the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative Analytic Role Training; the Intelligence Commanders Course; Criminal Intelligence Sharing: Protecting Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties; and the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program. She also led the research, design, and complex data analysis for the development of the public BJA State and Territory Fact Sheets.

Ms. Alford earned a master of science degree in data science from Eastern University and a bachelor of science degree in law enforcement intelligence from Florida State University.