Affiliation
Statistician, Division of Reproductive Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Education
MS, Statistics, UC Berkeley
BS, Mathematics, Georgia Tech

I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Math was always my favorite subject. Before my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to participate in the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, which brought together high-school students from across the state for an intensive summer immersion into the field of their choice. Naturally, I chose the math track. It was there that I was first introduced to statistics, and I was hooked.

At that time, statistics wasn’t typically included in the high-school curriculum. What appealed to me most was that statistics applied mathematical approaches to real-world problems. I went on to complete a BS in mathematics from Georgia Tech and master’s degree in statistics from UC Berkeley.

My entire professional career has been spent within the federal government, primarily at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 35 years. At CDC, I have worked exclusively in the division of reproductive health, focusing on survey methodology.

My greatest achievement and passion has been developing the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a state-population-based surveillance system of maternal behaviors and attitudes before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. I’ve had the privilege of helping it grow from a small state-based surveillance system into a well-known near national system that provides the best source of data on mothers and infants. PRAMS data has led to improved health through programmatic and legislative efforts.

I have also contributed to many other projects to collect, analyze, and report on data to improve the health of mothers and infants, especially in response to emerging epidemics. I was involved in establishing a hospital-based surveillance system in Puerto Rico in response to the Zika outbreak in 2016–2017. I also served on the COVID-19 emergency response supporting health and worker safety.

I serve as co-lead of the Healthy People 2030 Maternal, Infant, and Child Health (MICH) workgroup. Healthy People 2030 is a US Department of Health and Human Services cross-agency program to promote health and well-being through the life course. In this role, I work to identify key MICH indicators of health that are tracked over the decade to measure progress toward improved health outcomes such as reducing infant mortality, preterm birth, and maternal mortality.

Throughout my career, I have benefitted from mentors who gave me guidance and encouraged me to become involved in the ASA and professional service. I have been active in the Caucus for Women in Statistics (serving as president in 1999), ASA Committee on Women in Statistics (chair in 2000), Gertrude Cox Scholarship Committee, and ASA Leadership Support Council.

Currently, I serve as an ASA representative on the Joint Committee of Women in the Mathematical Sciences. This work to promote opportunities for women in the field of statistics is another passion of mine. I have been motivated by and followed in the footsteps of many inspiring women before me and hope I have done my part to inspire those who come after me.