Pennsylvania State Data Center

Director - Sue Copella

Sue Copella is the Director of the Pennsylvania State Date Center, Institute of State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania State Date Center is the Commonwealth’s official source of population and economic statistics. Sue is the state liaison for the National State Data Center Program, Federal State Cooperative for Population Estimates and Federal State Cooperative for Population Projections. As such, Sue in involved with providing assistance to the Census Bureau.

Sue has over 30 years of experience in managing various demographic projects. She manages demographic studies from conception, execution and completion. This includes performing a variety of activities including computer programming, data base management and collection, graphics and mapping; statistical analysis and report writing.

Prior to coming to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, Sue worked for both a regional and county planning agency and an economic development board. Sue is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Urban Studies and Geography.


email: sdc3@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6427

Data Services - Jennifer Shultz

As manager of the Data Services unit, Jennifer Shultz oversees the handling of customer requests, publication development, custom projects and workshop and conference planning.  Jennifer joined the PaSDC in January 1992 as a Research Technologist with the State Capital Office. She has held a variety of positions within the data services and sponsored projects units. Additional responsibilities include gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data related to research projects.

Jennifer received a B.S. in Mathematics from Penn State. Her experience includes a wide variety of roles including programming, mapping, data management, and database development. In her spare time, she volunteers as a Girl Scout leader and enjoys spending time with her family.

email: jjb131@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6690

Data Services - Larry Meyers

Larry Myers joined the PaSDC in the Data Services department in March of 2002. His major responsibilities include thematic and custom mapping and preparing Census data for clients and publications. Along with creating access databases, Larry also programs in SAS and VBA.

Larry received his B.S. in Geography from Penn State in 1993 and was previously employed by MapQuest. In his spare time, he enjoys playing ice hockey, watching sports, spending time with his family, and rooting on the Nittany Lions.

email: lkm105@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6096

Data Service - Tim Schock

Tim Schock joined the PaSDC in March 2017 as a data analyst. As a member of the Data Services team, he prepares monthly publications including Research Briefs, mapping products such as the Map of the Month, and fulfills custom data requests from a variety of stakeholders. Furthermore, Tim serves as the Data Center’s official liaison with state legislators, agencies, and the media and coordinates the Data Center’s social media presence.

Tim received both his M.S. in Geoenvironmental Studies (2017) and his B.A. in Sociology (2013) from Shippensburg University. He is experienced in demography, statistical analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), and database management. In his spare time, Tim enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and tabletop gaming.

email: trs69@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6671

Sponsored Projects - Debbie Bowalick

As Manager of Sponsored Projects, Debbie Bowalick serves as project leader on a number of research projects sponsored by various government organizations. She joined the Pennsylvania State Data Center as a Senior Research Technologist and member of the Sponsored Projects team in August 2003. She assumed her current responsibilities in July 2004.

Debbie received a B.S. in Mathematics from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Before coming to the PaSDC, Debbie worked as a system analyst for Armstrong World Industries, Inc. for 26 years. Her experience includes a wide range of positions from mainframe programmer to PC analyst to Lotus Notes programmer to SAP Archiver.

email:dab53@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6696

Sponsored Projects - Amy Heffelfinger

Amy Heffelfinger joined the PaSDC in February 2005 as a Sr. ResearchTechnologist and member of the Sponsored Projects team. Her current responsibilities include gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data related to research projects.

Amy received her B.A. in Mathematics from Messiah College in 1996 and was previously employed by Spectra. Her experience includes statistical analysis and SAS programming. In her spare time she enjoys playing tennis, spending time with family and friends, and rooting for the Baltimore Orioles.

email: ajh30@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6177

Sponsored Projects - Aaron Koontz

Aaron Koontz joined the PaSDC in February 2007 as a Senior Research Technologist and member of the Sponsored Projects team. His responsibilities include gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data related to research projects.

Aaron received his B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Elizabethtown College in 2006. His experience includes statistical analysis and data entry in SPSS and Excel. In his spare time, he enjoys playing roller hockey, playing video games, and spending time with his brothers and friends.

email: amk30@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6677

Sponsored Projects - Alyson Garland

Alyson Garland joined the PaSDC in June 2011 as a Senior Research Technologist. As a member of the Sponsored Projects team, her current responsibilities include gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data related to research projects.

Alyson earned her B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University in 2002 and her M.S. in Ecology from the University of North Florida in 2009. Prior to coming to the PaSDC, Alyson worked as an Environmental Specialist with the Duval County Health Department in Jacksonville, FL. Her experience includes data entry and statistical analysis in Microsoft Excel and GIS mapping. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors; hiking, kayaking, and BBQing with family and friends.

email: agg10@psu.edu
phone: (717) 948-6608