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From Marimba to Metrics

How SMU’s Professor blends data, creativity, and ethics to shape the next generation of nonprofit leaders.

In Professor Daniel Fonner’s classroom, data and creativity aren’t at odds. They inform each other — offering nonprofit leaders tools to make better decisions, while never losing sight of the communities and values at the heart of their work.

When you first meet Fonner, you might be surprised to learn that his career began not in a lab or a lecture hall, but behind a marimba.

A trained percussionist, Fonner’s early life was steeped in performance. Yet as he advanced in his studies, his attention turned from the stage to the systems behind it: the ways arts and culture organizations operate, and how public policy shapes their impact.

Today, Fonner is an adjunct lecturer in the Division of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs and also serves as Associate Director for Research at Southern Methodist University DataArts — the National Center for Arts Research at SMU. Drawing on extensive experience from cultural policy research in the UK to work with the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and BOP Consulting (London, UK), he teaches the course “Data-Driven Decision Making for Arts and Nonprofit Leaders” in the online M.A. in Arts and Nonprofit Leadership (ANPL) program.

From Performance to Policy to Data

Fonner’s trajectory highlights how deeply the arts intersect with technology and governance.

“It’s been an interesting progression going from being a performer to doing computer science research now,” he explains.

“But it’s all connected — through that lens of arts and culture, how we interact with it as a society, and how we can better understand it through analysis and technology.”

At SMU, he has designed and taught the course on data-driven decision-making for arts and nonprofit leaders. His philosophy is clear: while tools like regression analysis, Python, or Excel are powerful, data only matters when grounded in domain expertise.

“We can always create a model,” Fonner says, “but if it doesn’t make sense in the context of an organization’s community, it isn’t useful.”

Making Data Approachable

For many in the arts and nonprofit world, statistics may conjure up dreaded memories of math class. Fonner is quick to dispel that fear.

“The goal is to lower the barrier,” he says. By starting with real-world scenarios, such as predicting donor engagement or ticket sales, students see how methods like regression analysis can directly inform their work.

Equally important, he emphasizes collaboration. Leaders don’t need to be statisticians themselves, but they do need to understand how to communicate with those who are. “It’s about knowing enough to ask the right questions and working with colleagues who bring complementary skills,” Fonner explains.

Ethics, AI, and the Future of the Sector

Drawing on his background in computer science, Fonner examines how artificial intelligence intersects with policy and practice. Beyond developing and teaching a course on AI for public policy and administration for SMU’s MPP and MPA programs, his research focuses on using AI to evaluate human decision-making, including identifying potential biases in public sector and philanthropic processes.

But he’s cautious about hype. “All AI models are biased in some way, and that often comes from human choices in how they’re trained. The question isn’t just what these tools can do, but what the ethical implications are on staff, communities, and long-term strategy.”

For students, that translates into a nuanced perspective: AI is not a replacement for human leadership, but a tool that must be handled thoughtfully, with attention to equity, privacy, and the values of the communities being served.

Why SMU?

Fonner joined SMU in 2019, drawn by the opportunity to merge academic rigor with practical impact through SMU DataArts. What he appreciates most is the balance of small, discussion-driven cohorts with access to the resources of a major university — ranging from business school insights to specialized nonprofit databases.

“The strength of this program is that students not only get practical knowledge for the sector, but they also engage with the kind of research and resources that give their work long-term depth.”

Bringing it Full Circle

Though his day-to-day is filled with data analysis and policy research, Fonner hasn’t left his musical roots behind. Before the pandemic, his office housed a marimba, a reminder of where his journey began.

That connection to creativity and performance continues to shape the way he teaches future leaders in the arts and nonprofit fields, grounding numbers and models in the lived reality of human expression.

Join the Next Generation of Arts-Data Innovators

Let Prof. Fonner’s journey — from performer to policy expert to data researcher — inspire your next step. Whether you’re passionate about creativity, social impact, or innovation, SMU’s interdisciplinary, thoughtful approach offers the tools, mentorship, and mindset to turn inspiration into action.