About Kris

Kris Shaffer, PhD (Yale University, 2011), is Principal Data Scientist at MK Analytics and an Adjunct Instructor of Information Science at the University of Colorado–Boulder. Kris previously served as a Senior Data Scientist and Director of Web Intelligence for Yonder, and as a private data consultant. He co-authored The Tactics and Tropes of the Internet Research Agency, a report prepared for the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on social media. Kris has consulted for multiple U.S. government agencies, non-profits, and universities on matters related to digital disinformation, data ethics, and digital pedagogy.

Kris is the author of Data versus Democracy: How Big Data Algorithms Shape Opinions and Alter the Course of History, published July 2019 by Apress.

In a former (professional) life, Kris was an academic and digital humanist. He has taught courses in music theory and cognition, computer science, and digital studies at Yale University, the University of Colorado–Boulder, the University of Mary Washington, and Charleston Southern University. He holds a PhD from Yale University.

Kris is a member of the Board of Directors and a former Contributing Editor for Hybrid Pedagogy and the lead author of Open Music Theory ― an open-source, interactive textbook for undergraduate music theory courses.

He also knows how to drive a Zamboni.