Madeline Clark
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madelinerclark.com
Madeline Clark
@madelinerclark.com
77 followers 630 following 90 posts
she/her 📊 Data professional and German Shepherd owner 🐺 Opinions/views are my own

Based out of southern Maine 🫎

🌐 https://madelinerclark.com
🦊 https://github.com/madelinerclark
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madelinerclark.com
Been a while since I posted to this account but rest assured my birdwatching skills have upgraded since we last spoke
A red eastern screech owl asleep in a hole in a tree. A bunch of black-bellied plovers in their winter molts standing on the shore in the early morning light. An immature roseate spoonbill standing in a marsh.
October 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
madelinerclark.com
I’m nearly 30 so naturally I got some nice binoculars and a smartphone mount and now I’m taking amateur bird photos
A photo of an American Robin sitting on a branch in a tree. It’s in profile looking off to the left. A photo of an American Robin standing in a tree branch through some out-of-focus leaves.
May 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
madelinerclark.com
We’re moving to Massachusetts at the end of the month and I’m no closer to remembering how to spell the state’s name without autocorrect
Yuki, a white German Shepherd, is lying on the grass just off the edge of a patio next to a planter box. He’s staring directly at the camera, ears up.
May 9, 2025 at 2:54 AM
madelinerclark.com
Took a little bit but here are my thoughts on my federal contract getting cut by DOGE
Screenshot of a LinkedIn post by Madeline Clark (Senior Data Analyst @ Chegg Skills): I wanted to share a few personal thoughts on an experience I had earlier this year. I previously worked at a consulting firm supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs. I worked as a senior data analyst on a handful of contracts, but notably I tracked the improvement of software/hardware infrastructure across medical centers for the VHA. For nearly two years I worked on a team filled with highly capable people, both contractors and federal employees, with incredible technical capabilities and a clear understanding of the VA's mission. On February 25, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency terminated my contract. Nearly 900 VA contracts were terminated that same day, VA Secretary Doug Collins tweeting that the VA wouldn't be "paying consultants to do things like make Power Point [sic] slides and write meeting minutes." I'm not here to argue that the work I did was important or meaningful because I know it was. Every team I worked on was filled with talented consultants that did incredible work to improve veterans' lives. I'm also not here to argue whether DOGE's actions have had harmful effects on the government; harm has always been the intent behind them. Russell Vought, director of the OMB and key contributor to Project 2025, called for a heavily defunded and demonized government last October: "When [federal employees] wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains... We want to put them in trauma." Demonizing federal employees and contractors is nothing more than a pretext for DOGE's current actions. Continuation of LinkedIn screenshot: I'm here to ask: once the VA has cleaned out its contract support and laid off its employees, what happens to the veterans who relied on the VA's services? When entire offices dedicated to providing support are gutted, who is there when a veteran needs that support? This goes beyond the VA as well. If Medicare and Medicaid are defunded, how many Americans will no longer have access to medical care? How long will it take for FAFSAs to be processed for low-income students? How many groundbreaking studies and clinical trials have stopped due to canceled funding? In my opinion, the answers to all of these is that DOGE and its enablers do not care. Regardless of long-term goals, the American people will suffer because of these decisions in the interim. Even still, the DOGE website will claim that billions of dollars have been saved to "give back" to the same people who stand to lose so much, if they haven't lost everything already. I believe in a government that truly gives back to its people, that puts taxpayer dollars towards public services and programs. If that means hiring more staff, bringing on more contractors, or increasing funding in order to accomplish this, then to me, nothing about that is abusive, fraudulent, or wasteful.
March 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
madelinerclark.com
“spring”

(photo from today)
Yukon, a white German Shepherd, walks on an unpaved, snowy path. Snow falls around him as the trees and plants are covered. Photo taken March 24, 2025 in southern Maine.
March 25, 2025 at 2:44 AM
madelinerclark.com
It’s official! Today was my first day joining the Chegg Skills team 🎉
Screenshot of Madeline Clark (subtitle: Senior Data Analyst @ Chegg Skills) on LinkedIn: “I'm thrilled to announce that l've started a new position as a Senior Data Analyst at Chegg Inc. as part of their Chegg Skills team! Super excited for this next step!! #LifeatChegg” Post contains a drawing of a man with a megaphone on an orange background with the text “I joined Chegg” with the subtitle “Starting a New Position.”
March 18, 2025 at 2:16 AM
madelinerclark.com
Important dog update
An extreme closeup of a white dog’s nose resting on its paws
March 9, 2025 at 3:09 AM
madelinerclark.com
Took 12 days and nearly giving up twice but we finished our puzzle of Bar Harbor ⛴️
A top-down view of a 1000 piece puzzle of Bar Harbor. The puzzle showcases the harbor at dusk with several boats on the water, the street lights reflecting on top, with the mountains in the background.
February 15, 2025 at 3:44 AM
madelinerclark.com
Love the spreadsheet support shoutout in 2025, we truly will never escape
Screenshot from a dbt Labs post on LinkedIn: “We've heard spreadsheet frustrations from engineers to analysts. 🔴 Metrics don’t match between BI tools and spreadsheets 🔴 Complex calculations take too long to run (or break altogether) 🔴 Static exports leave teams working with outdated data The dbt Semantic Layer solves these problems by delivering governed, real-time metrics directly into Excel and Google Sheets. ✅ Run complex calculations efficiently, without breaking queries ✅ Ensure consistency—centralized logic eliminates metric drift ✅ Skip static exports—query dbt-defined metrics in real-time No more slow queries. No more stale data. Just fast, consistent, and trusted metrics—right where they’re needed. Learn more in the blog (link in comments).” Post contains a screenshot of a dbt model working within a Google Sheets spreadsheet
February 12, 2025 at 2:24 PM
madelinerclark.com
Everyone needs a breather, have some Yuki pics
Yuki, a white German Shepherd, stands in snow in the middle of the woods. He’s partially obscured by branches. Yuki, a white German Shepherd, lays asleep on a gray dog bed with bolsters. His head is resting on the corner the bolsters.
February 11, 2025 at 11:51 PM
madelinerclark.com
January has been so busy already 😩

Made a quick trip down to Georgia this week, hopefully I can get back into some side projects once I get home!
A snow igloo made in someone’s front yard in Georgia after the snowstorm on January 10; two sleds lie on the clear grass next to it with the bushes having light snow on them.
January 18, 2025 at 2:53 AM
madelinerclark.com
I love capturing photos of Yuki looking like he’s completely done with me
Yuki, a white German Shepherd, is lying on a rug. His body is pointed away from the camera, but he is looking over his shoulder at the camera.
December 18, 2024 at 4:55 AM
madelinerclark.com
I ran off to Toronto for the weekend and the aquarium was just the loveliest thing
A photo taken at the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto: stingrays are swimming in a tank with one showing its mouth to the camera. A photo taken at the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto: several red, green, yellow, and pink sea anemones are in a tank. A photo taken at the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto: a giant blue lobster is sitting on a rock. A photo taken at the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto: a tank is lit up bright green to highlight the several small jellyfish swimming inside.
December 16, 2024 at 2:06 AM
madelinerclark.com
It's snowing!
Yuki, a white German Shepherd, is outside in the snow. A giant snowflake has fallen on his nose, with other snowflakes on his head and back.
December 5, 2024 at 7:16 PM
madelinerclark.com
I'm a Gonzo apologist, his fits are just unmatched
Gonzo, the Muppet, leans against a wall with a yellow and black tartan suit. He's also wearing a yellow shirt, a patterned tie, a brown hat, and what appear to be Mary Jane shoes Gonzo, the Muppet, is jumping for joy. He's wearing a yellow button-up with a chili pepper pattern and white and black plaid pants with shiny black shoes.
December 3, 2024 at 3:26 PM
madelinerclark.com
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Yuki, a white German Shepherd, is very close to the camera, his nose in focus.
November 28, 2024 at 4:34 PM
madelinerclark.com
Whether you like her music or not, you've seen Taylor Swift's name in the past two years

Earlier this year I started an ongoing project to analyze Taylor Swift's entire discography. Follow along with its progress with @streamlit.bsky.social web app! 📊

taylor-swift-discography.streamlit.app
November 27, 2024 at 6:37 PM