Retired
Brenda Gaydos is a devoted grandmother, retired from a rewarding career as a statistician in the pharmaceutical industry. After taking her first statistics class as a junior in college, she found her passion and followed it. She became the first female statistician promoted to the highest scientific rank in her company’s history and had the privilege of working with great minds across the industry to drive improvements in clinical research.
Through active membership in the ASA—starting in graduate school—Gaydos networked with a diverse range of statisticians across academia, government, and industry. She said yes to the opportunity to give back to the ASA through service in various elected positions within the Section on Statistical Consulting. Why not the Biopharmaceutical Section? Her endless interest in diversity of thought and leveraging what can be learned to break new ground. “We accomplish nothing alone,” she said. “I had great mentors and colleagues for whom I will always be grateful.”
Growing up in a middle-class suburb of Portland, Oregon, Gaydos never imagined she would be a statistician. She was active in the Forensic Association (the study and practice of public speaking and debate) in high school. As a sophomore, she was one of the youngest students in history to win the state gold in serious interpretation of a monologue. “Some of my peers went to Hollywood, but I preferred the library,” Gaydos said. “I had no idea that this skill would be critical to my future success. Communicating complex ideas simply, and in an entertaining way, is highly effective.”
Gaydos’s parents moved a lot. Her father traveled for his job and was rarely home, so her mother ran the household. She was a strong, take-charge person and Gaydos’s earliest role model of a female leader. Her parents did not go to college. Both their fathers worked in the coal mines because those jobs paid best. Her parents believed college was a waste of money, especially for a girl. Therefore, she was pressured to get a job and be financially independent as soon as possible after graduating from high school. “It was not easy to get my PhD without parental support,” Gaydos said. “I married a boy I met in high school (44 years and counting), and we put each other through college while raising two children. Many people felt it was their duty to tell us we could not possibly succeed. I believe that was illustrative of their own lack of belief in themselves, which is sad. I never lost faith in myself. I learned to listen to my inner compass and not be much influenced by how others viewed me.”
Gaydos held many jobs along the way to earning her PhD; she was a crop picker, a fast-food restaurant employee, a receptionist, and a purchasing agent. She believes the journey was key to her success. “During my career, I earned a reputation for speaking truth to powerful people. I never worried about job security or promotions. Doing my best in the pursuit of scientific truth to help improve the health and lives of others was far more important to me,” Gaydos said.
Leave a Reply