About our name

A Fall Line is a geographic boundary between softer coastal plain or alluvial sediments and harder bedrock. The most famous Fall Line is the boundary between the eastern coastal plain and the piedmont of Appalachia, running from New Jersey to Georgia. When meandering coastal plain rivers cross the Fall Line, they form rapids and waterfalls as they become more constrained in the hills. These waterfalls were used for power, and became the nucleus for cites such as Trenton, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Richmond, and Raleigh.

The Fall Line powers growth, which is why it was chosen as our name. Understanding subtle changes - whether in geology or with analytical data - is key to being able to foster change in an organization. Just as the Fall Line framed the growth of a nation, Fall Line Analytics can frame the growth and success your organization or campaign.

About David Latterman

David Latterman, Principal of Fall Line Analytics, has spent over twenty years analyzing scientific, public policy, corporate, and political data.  He has worked in private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors, having developed a great deal of common-sense knowledge of how all of these worlds operate.  He has especially come to learn how data analysis drives strategy.  Latterman has the ability to translate complex quantitative data into actionable, useful applications and advice for clients. He and Fall Line see the many business sectors as similar, since many of same analytical methodologies can be used to guide strategy, no matter how different the data.

Having founded Fall Line as a political research firm, Latterman moved from detailed, quantitative voter analyses to business and organizational research. With the ability to use maps and clear visuals to display quantitative trends, Latterman and Fall Line Analytics have not only worked on all aspects of political campaigns, but also advertising campaigns, business development projects, and many different kinds of surveys and field research.

Latterman is also one of the best-known political analysts in the San Francisco Bay Area, using his unique skill set to become an expert on the political, campaigning, and public opinion process. Unlike many analysts that work from inside the political process, Latterman prefers to study the voters, and how their demographics and opinions shape an election.

Latterman received a Masters of Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, as well as a Masters of Science in Geology from the UNC Chapel Hill. He graduated cum laude from Bowdoin College with dual Bachelors in Anthropology and Geology. Latterman’s work experience includes working as an exploration petroleum geologist; a public policy think tank researcher; and a public-sector utility analyst.

From 2011-2014, Latterman also held an appointment at the University of San Francisco, helping to grow the university's quantitative research capacity and the Masters of Public Affairs graduate program. He also helped with USF's internal market research, and has taught in the Masters of Business Analytics programs. Latterman is currently Adjunct Faculty at USF and Boise State University.