In 2023, I used the Freedom of Information Act to create a salary database for Virginia state employees. Pivot tables, sorting functions and filters were used to determine which employees earned the most, and which organizations had access to the most funding. This project was a massive undertaking that started with nearly two-dozen FOIA requests, and countless hours were spent cleaning more than 100,000 rows of data. The project, which aimed to shed light on spending and pay disparities in our state government, was also supplemented by interactive graphics and in-depth reporting. This project later received a data journalism award from the Virginia Press Association in 2024.