Highlights Time at Mathworks (17:27) Being a team leader (18:52) Staying in touch with the technical side (20:04) Advice (27:07) Bio Sohini Sarkar is a Principal Product Manager and a Senior Team Lead at MathWorks. Her career started with earning a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and then working on DOE and EPA projects as a postdoctoral researcher. She has held various positions at Dassault Systèmes, ranging from a solution consultant to a market and competitive intelligence analyst, concurrently ea...
Feb 26, 2025•30 min•Ep. 57
Predictive Modeling (4:15) Human judgement and processes (14:06) Imperfection in models (21:40) Bio Claudia Perlich is Managing Director and Head of Strategic Data Science for Investment Management at Two Sigma, where she has worked for seven years. In this role, Claudia is responsible for developing innovative alpha strategies at the intersection of alternative data, thematic hypotheses and machine learning in public markets. Claudia joined Two Sigma from Dstillery, an AI ad targeting company, ...
Jan 16, 2025•46 min•Ep. 56
Highlights Vulnerability and honesty in leadership (12:07) Finding leaders who are willing to take risks on talent (13:48) Bio Maritza is an engineering manager at Klaviyo, where she leads a team focused on creating tools that help marketers better understand and optimize their campaign and flow performance. She enjoys collaborating with her team to develop solutions that provide clear, actionable insights for users. Before joining Klaviyo, Maritza worked at startups in the clinical trial manage...
Dec 18, 2024•16 min•Ep. 55
Math and Computer Science (2:51) Graph Alignment (20:38) Bio Huda Nassar is a senior computer scientist at RelationalAI working on building the graph algorithms library offered as part of RelationalAI's product. Previously, Huda obtained a PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University and was a postdoc fellow at Stanford's School of Medicine. Huda is also known for her "Julia for Data Science" course which had over 13,000 students and focused on Data Science methods including graph analytics. C...
Oct 17, 2024•37 min•Ep. 54
Language as the access to different cultures (2:09) Career journey (8:23) People first in leadership style (23:19) Bio Hannah Pham is a seasoned data leader with experience building and scaling data teams at top tech companies like Airbnb and Pinterest. Hannah's expertise spans consumer and monetization domains. As the Head of Data Science for the consumer area at Pinterest, she leverages data to bring the best experience to Pinners and drive business growth. Hannah is also a successful startup ...
Sep 18, 2024•36 min•Ep. 53
Sydney Hazen, a Privacy Data Scientist at Ford, shares her journey from a college intern to a full-time role. She highlights how internships can lead to job offers and the importance of real-world experience and corporate navigation. Sydney emphasizes applying technical skills with a socially conscious approach, understanding problems before diving into data, and credits her professor and diverse classmates for shaping her perspective. She plans to pursue further education and explore different ...
Jul 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 52
Highlights LLMs (1:46) AI systems (3:25) The need for humanness in AI (20:17) Transitioning to independent consultant (28:31) Bio Karin Golde, is the Founder of West Valley AI. She helps businesses and technical leaders navigate the rapidly developing landscape of AI and Large Language Models by sharing her expertise which has ranged from executive leadership roles at multiple startups to heading the language engineering division for the AI Data team at Amazon Web Services. Her philosophy is to ...
Apr 19, 2024•43 min•Ep. 51
Highlights: 00:02:25 - Colleen’s motivation for writing a book, interdisciplinary collaborations, and explaining advanced mathematical tools in accessible ways. 00:08:44 - Journey from biology and social sciences to data science, and the integration of different mathematical tools in solving data problems. 00:14:13 - Overcoming imposter syndrome and the value of exploring beyond one's field. 00:15:02 - The importance of mentorship. 00:23:40 - Coping strategies for setbacks in academia and indust...
Feb 22, 2024•28 min•Ep. 50
Summary: Listen to the incredible and inspiring journey of Avalon Baldwin’s career journey. A self-described data nerd, she was not only the first in her family to attend college, she went on to get a graduate degree. Today she is an entrepreneur running her own consulting company. In conversation with Chisoo Lyons, Avalon shares how curiosity, mentorship, and coaching made a difference in her life. Highlights: ( 06:18 ): Exploring factors like how data is collected, the intention behind collect...
Jan 25, 2024•35 min•Ep. 49
In this episode, Margot Gerittsen speaks with Kim Grauer. Kim is the Director of Research at Chainalysis, where she examines trends in cryptocurrency economics and crime. Listen as she talks about her obsession with fighting fraud in the cryptocurrency market. Highlights: What is crypto crime Trust in stable coin Misconceptions around cryptocurrency Using data and data science in fighting fraud About the Guest: Kim is the Director of Research at Chainalysis, where she examines trends in cryptocu...
Nov 29, 2023•34 min•Ep. 48
Michelle Katics, CEO and co-founder of BankersLab, discusses her journey in risk management training and the importance of integrating technical skills with business and soft skills. She shares her experience in helping banks navigate complex regulations and the need for training to improve understanding and decision-making. Katics emphasizes the importance of storytelling and simplifying complex concepts to effectively communicate with stakeholders. She also highlights the need for women to par...
Oct 19, 2023•40 min•Ep. 47
In this episode, Mary Krone explores her career shift from a PhD in chemistry and biochemistry to data science, where she builds financial credit models. She highlights her work’s tangible impact and discusses the challenges of work-life balance. Mary’s passion for data science’s positive potential in finance shines through as she debunks misconceptions, talks about career paths, and dives into the evolving world of data science and generative AI. The episode also includes topics of the need for...
Sep 29, 2023•43 min•Ep. 46
Kate Kolich serves as the Assistant Governor and the General Manager of Information Data and Analytics at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. With an extensive background in the financial sector, she also has significant public sector experience. Throughout her impressive career, she's delved into areas like data analytics, digital strategy, information management, data governance, business intelligence, and data warehousing, among others. Soon after the launch of Women in Data Science (WiDS) at St...
Aug 29, 2023•32 min•Ep. 45
Telle Whitney began her career in the tech industry in 1986 after earning a Ph.D. in computer science from Cal Tech. Her journey into graduate studies was sparked by an encounter with graphics during her undergraduate studies at the University of Utah. Although she initially wasn't interested in graphics, the idea of computer-aided design fascinated her, and she was drawn to work with Ivan Sutherland, a co-founder of the computer science department at Cal Tech. Throughout college, Telle learned ...
Jul 20, 2023•32 min•Ep. 44
Srujana Kaddevarmuth began her career near Bangalore, India after completing her master’s degree in engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University. She has had a successful career in the tech industry and currently holds the position of senior director at Walmart's Data and Machine Learning Center of Excellence. In her role as senior director at Walmart, Srujana leads the AI portfolio for various aspects of the company's retail business, including omni retail, new and emerging businesses...
Jun 22, 2023•36 min•Ep. 43
Today Veronica Edwards is a senior data analyst at Polygence, though her educational and career background encompasses a wide range – she has delved into everything from dance and choreography to physics, sociology, marketing, and most recently, data science. Polygence is a nonprofit that offers middle and high school students a 10-week research experience under the guidance of a professional mentor. As a senior data analyst at Polygence, Veronica uses data to help build and scale the company an...
May 18, 2023•28 min•Ep. 42
As Estée Lauder’s first-ever Chief Data Officer, Jane Lauder is combining data science with creativity to fuel the growth of the company. Jane has worked at Estée Lauder for 26 years – 24 of which she spent working on the brand and marketing aspects of the business. While working as the Global Brand President of Clinique, Jane saw the power of data to drive all aspects of the business, motivating her to transition into her current role. Estée Lauder Companies is one of the world’s leading manufa...
Apr 20, 2023•27 min•Ep. 41
An expert in climate change and the optimization of power grids, Priya Donti researches how to use machine learning for forecasting, optimization, and control of power grids to facilitate the integration of renewable energy. She first became interested in climate change during high school and studied computer science with a focus on environmental analysis as an undergraduate at Harvey Mudd College. After graduation, she spent a year on a Watson Fellowship, learning about different approaches for...
Jan 04, 2023•42 min•Ep. 40
Lesly Zerna earned her undergraduate degree in Telecommunications Engineering at the Bolivian Catholic University and then traveled to Brussels to complete a Masters in Computer Science. After returning to Latin America, she began teaching data science and AI both in universities and virtual platforms and today her courses have thousands of online students. She brings insights from her experiences working in large companies overseas to her students in Latin America. For those just starting in da...
Nov 10, 2022•47 min•Ep. 39
Leda Braga is the founder and CEO of Systematica Investments, a hedge fund that uses data science-driven models to support its investment strategies. Leda was born and raised in Brazil and found her way into the financial sector after getting her PhD in engineering and spending several years as an academic. Her financial career started with seven years in investment banking at JP Morgan and then she joined the hedge fund startup BlueCrest in 2000. She explains that while her funds did very well ...
Oct 14, 2022•37 min•Ep. 38
A Colombian engineer, Jessica is fascinated by the processes and complexity of water supply systems in urban areas.In her post doc research in Australia, she brings together her expertise on the water hammer and transient flow waves to create an AI model that is able to identify where pipeline defects are faster and more accurately than existing techniques. She explains that in data science, the most important stage is understanding the problem. You need to bring in basic knowledge of the proble...
Sep 15, 2022•46 min•Ep. 37
As a quantitative social psychologist, Karolina has always been interested in using data to measure human behavior to try to understand it better. She has researched questions around political attitudes and polarization, particularly in light of Brexit and Trump’s election in 2016. She wanted to understand how people could arrive at completely different understandings of the world and reflect it in their voting decisions. One of her findings was that in the American two-party political system, p...
Aug 11, 2022•48 min•Ep. 36
EPISODE NOTES WiDS Executive Director Margot Gerritsen welcomes her new co-host, Cindy Orozco, in a wide-ranging conversation about their career paths and valuable learnings along the way. Cindy is thrilled to be joining as podcast co-host and believes that showcasing women at all stages of their careers shows that we “share the same fears or experiences every day. It's just that some of us have been on the path a little bit longer than others.” Cindy is an applied mathematician who is currently...
Jun 15, 2022•51 min•Ep. 35
When Tahu Kukutai’s father went to school, he wasn’t allowed to speak his native language. If he did, he would be hit by his teachers. While the situation for the Maori people in Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand) has improved somewhat since then, Tahu has dedicated her career to advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples to preserve their native language, identity, communities, and culture. In today’s world, power over data is a central component of indigenous self-determination. Go...
Dec 09, 2021•38 min•Ep. 34
Allison Koenecke, who received her PhD from Stanford’s Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME), describes how her experiences in academia and industry shaped her decision to return to academia. Currently a postdoc at Microsoft Research in the Machine Learning and Statistics group, she starts as an Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University next year. Her research interests lie at the intersection of economics and computer science, with projects focus...
Nov 11, 2021•28 min•Ep. 33
Though Karina showed an early aptitude in math, her high school counselor advised her against pursuing an engineering degree. She ignored his advice and went on to earn her undergrad degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD in Aeronautics from Caltech. She landed her first job as a speech-to-text engineer at TRW where she was awarded her first patent. She then moved on to technology transfer as a patent agent at the Jet Propulsion Lab. She bounced back to ac...
Oct 07, 2021•38 min•Ep. 32
Fatima Abu Salem grew up in Lebanon and has focused her data science research on addressing critical challenges in the region, including problems around the Syrian refugee crisis, the water quality in Lebanon and their irrigation requirements for farmers. Fatima explains that her life journey is really enshrined in the conflict of the region. She was born to a Lebanese mother and a Palestinian father who had refugee status so she inherited this status. This meant there were many restrictions on ...
Sep 09, 2021•34 min•Ep. 31
Louvere Walker-Hannon has worked at MathWorks (the company that makes MATLAB) for over 21 years, where she’s also a STEM Ambassador. She studied biomedical engineering as an undergraduate at Boston University and did graduate work at Northeastern University in geographic information technology with a specialization in remote sensing.She loved working with MATLAB as an undergraduate and when MathWorks came to the career fair when she graduated, she sought them out, got an interview, and has been ...
Aug 12, 2021•48 min•Ep. 30
After she earned her BA, MA, and PhD in economics from the University of Maryland, Menglin Cao spent six years at Fannie Mae before joining Wells Fargo. Over the past 15 years, she has seen a major shift in how financial institutions use data to drive business decisions. In the past, many business decisions were based upon the experience and judgement of senior executives, but today every decision must be backed up by data and analytics. Many aspects of the financial services that leverage data ...
Jul 15, 2021•30 min•Ep. 29
Karen Hao trained as a mechanical engineer and then joined a Silicon Valley startup, thinking that technology was the best means to create social change. While surrounded by smart people who were also passionate about using technology for social change, she soon discovered there were no incentives or pathways to accomplish this. “When you're inside a technology company and you're thinking this is going to help change the world, you're often blind to unattended consequences of your work,” she say...
Jun 10, 2021•34 min•Ep. 28
