Spencer Davison’s Data Analytics Scholarship

Matik is organizing this fundraiser for a scholarship to attend the Data Analytics Bootcamp at General Assembly in honor of Spencer Davison.

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It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share that Spencer Davison passed away early this January. Spencer was a cherished part of the Matik team, and his enthusiasm, dedication, and bright personality were the light of the workplace. His absence will be deeply felt by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him.

In honor of his memory, we are looking to fund a scholarship to General Assembly’s Data Analytics Bootcamp, which helps individuals jump start their career in Data Analytics. Those who knew Spencer will know he had a passion for Data - whether it was flexing his data skills on LinkedIn’s Insights team where he pushed the boundaries of what could be done with data, evangelizing the automation of data-driven content with Matik, or sharing the importance of data storytelling. Even while on vacation reading Shogun (a casual fun holiday read), he managed to take a quote about naval rutters and relate it to data in a LinkedIn post .

General Assembly’s Data Analytics Bootcamp is a 3-month intensive course that provides skills training, one-on-one career coaching, and helps students make employer connections. This scholarship will go to an under-served individual in the hope that it can transform their career and their life in a way that would have made Spencer proud.

If you would like to contribute to this cause in Spencer’s memory, please donate to this GoFundMe campaign by the end of February at which time we will work with General Assembly to put together a scholarship.

Thank you for your consideration and contributions.

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Spencer Davison’s Obituary:

Spencer Greer Davison, age 35, passed on to his next great adventure on January 3rd, 2024 in Isla Holbox, Mexico-fitting for someone who despised the cold. Ever the traveler, Spencer came into the world on November 21st, 1988 in Tokyo, Japan. He spent his early years there and Malaysia before moving with his mother, Kristine Lauritzen Fellows, and brother, Nicholas Davison, to Canton, Ohio.

He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 2007 and ensured his next years would be in a warmer climate, attending Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He studied Political Science and English since he had an opinion on everything and needed to articulate those opinions better than others (not that he required an English degree to do so). He was in the Chi Delta Tau fraternity and co-hosted the Trinity Jazz radio station to spread his musical tastes as far as possible. Spencer had an unending thirst for knowledge, continuing his education by studying predictive analytics at UC Irvine before earning a Masters of Science in Global Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona-a school he definitely chose for its reputation and not just because it was another warm weather destination.

Spencer kicked off his career at Booz Allen Hamilton in San Antonio, Texas, as a consultant on important and complicated projects. A plot twist happened when he accepted a position as a Senior Insights Lead at The Marketing Store, requiring him to move to snowy and cold Chicago, Illinois. He managed to brave the cold for almost two years before accepting a job at LinkedIn and transitioning to the world of tech as a Program Manager, moving to San Francisco, California. After three years of significant contributions to LinkedIn, Spencer's spirit of adventure took hold of him once more, leading him and his passion for data and storytelling to the world of startups. He joined Matik.io, not just as their fifth employee but as a pivotal member of the leadership team. Over the past four years, Spencer has played an instrumental role in scaling the company while working intimately with their customers to automate data driven content as Head of Account Management.

Those were the technical details of Spencer's life, but he has always been much greater than the sum of his parts. Spencer was funny, complicated, loving, daring, loyal, bold, intelligent, curious; take any adjective and you could find a way to apply it to Spencer. Everything he loved, he loved deeply. As a kid, he loved Tabasco sauce so much he had a giant portrait of the bottle in his bedroom. He has seen one of his most beloved bands, The National, a whopping five times-a love he shared with his mother. His passion for film, television, and literature was both broad and deep, and he could talk your ear off about any of them. Bring up one of his favorite directors-Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Michael Mann, Paul Thomas Anderson-and be prepared for a weekend of conversation. Expect a cocktail (or many) with the discussion. Unsure what to have? Take Spencer's favorite: a gin martini with blue cheese olives. He fancied himself as a fancy man.

Spencer's love of adventure and exploration influenced his whole being. He developed a love of running, probably as a means of exploring anywhere he lived or visited. He'd pop out and about to the unknown, on little "side quests" to everywhere and nowhere. Chicago's lake shore, the steep streets of San Francisco, the beaches of the Bahamas: Spencer's footprints span across the world. His final day, his last adventure in this life, was spent with his partner Katie Carney, kayaking in the ocean at night, illuminated by the stars from above and the bioluminescent plankton from below-ending with a glass of wine and an episode of 30 Rock.

Beyond the places he visited, Spencer left an even deeper mark on those he loved and who loved him. He is survived by Kristine Lauritzen Fellows and Steven Ross Fellows of Canton, Ohio; his brothers, Nicholas Lauritzen Davison of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Alexander Dean Fellows of Madison, Wisconsin; his grandmother, Jane Greer Lauritzen of Canton, Ohio; and his partner, Kathleen Anne Carney of Chicago, Illinois. He is also survived by former wife, Nousha Ralyn Parkhill and their beloved dog, Oliver, of San Antonio, Texas. With his passing, he rejoins his late sister, Caitlin Bradford Fellows.

Spencer dreamed of buying a large home on a secluded island for his loved ones. He's there now, with Caitlin, preparing and waiting for the rest of us.

To end, a quote from one of Spencer's favorite writers:

"Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade."

Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Our memory of Spencer Greer Davison will never fade.

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