St. Louis Character: From Nebraska to SLU – How Ness Sandoval became a leading voice on St. Louis demographics

Image courtesy of SLBJ

Reported by St. Louis Business Journal

For J.S. Onesimo "Ness" Sandoval, a sociologist and demographer at Saint Louis University, much of his life’s work can be summarized in two words: providing access.

In his career, he provides access to statistics and data that may otherwise not be accessible or understood by the general public. But he provides access outside of his career, too, through volunteer work where he has provided access to math, both through math classes for adults and a chess club at his local parish.

Born in Denver, Sandoval, who serves as SLU's director of the Master of Science in sociology program and co-director of the public and social policy Ph.D. program, discovered his love for statistics almost immediately in his undergrad. This love for numbers brought him from epidemiology, studying and publishing health data in Nebraska, to Washington, D.C., where he worked for global research company Gallup. Full article below.

Ness Sandoval article STLBJ May2025.pdf

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