This month, we spotlight new member Vera Dureke, who answered the following questions so we could get to know her better:
How did you become interested in statistics and/or data science?
I found my way into data science through a mix of curiosity and frustration. I was working in operations, feeling unfulfilled and directionless, when I took a chance on going back to school at 24. That’s when I discovered how data can tell stories, uncover truths, and challenge systems. Statistics gave me the language to describe uncertainty, and data science gave me the tools to do something about it.
What do you consider your dream job?
My dream job is to be a research scientist focused on data ethics. I want to build equitable AI systems and ensure marginalized voices are considered at every stage of the data pipeline, from collection to deployment. Ideally, I’d work at the intersection of academia, advocacy, and industry, shaping policies and frameworks that make technology more transparent and humane.
What do you hope understanding statistics and/or data science helps you accomplish?
I want to use data science to challenge bias, not reinforce it. My goal is to design systems that support ethical decision-making, especially in high-impact sectors. Understanding statistics helps me ask better questions and see the nuances in patterns because not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that’s counted should be.
Is there a particular group of statisticians you would like to reach out to you?
Yes! I’d love to connect with members of the following ASA sections:
- Statistical Learning and Data Science – for advancing ethical machine learning practices
- Statistics and Data Science Education – to explore ways of integrating responsible AI into curriculum
- Government Statistics – to better understand data transparency and policy
- Health Policy Statistics – to ensure fairness in health care analytics
- Social Statistics – because the societal impact of data is central to my work
- Text Analysis – given my experience working with natural language and classification tasks
If you’re working at the intersection of data, equity, and impact—I’d love to connect!
What is your favorite hobby?
I love wandering through art museums and street markets, taking pictures of the little things people overlook. I also enjoy volunteering with tech organizations supporting underrepresented communities. It’s a way to give back and stay grounded.
What is something you would like people to know about you that we haven’t asked?
I’m nonbinary and deeply committed to creating space for people who’ve historically been excluded from tech. I don’t just want a seat at the table; I want to help rebuild the table, so others don’t have to fight just to be heard.
Welcome to Our Newest Members
| Yisa Adeniyi Abolade
Jeremiah Allis Mansour Dhafi Alshammri Elijah Amirianfar Bingxue An Cecile Ane Theophilus Anim Bediako Mary Appah John Argentino Shirli Arndt Paul Atandoh Richel O. Attafuah Moiz Sadiq Awan Sebastain Awondo Kate Bachtell Jing Bai Makena S. Bailey Oluwadotun Catherine Balogun Sandra Bamfo David Banahene Arisina Banerjee Soubhik Barari Adam Bartonicek William W. Beach Isabelle Beaudry Pete Benbow Habtamu Kassa Benecha Brian Blackman Timothy Boakye Daniel E. Boonstra Farrah Bostic Thomas M. Braun Alexander Brick Gloria Brigiari Blaine L. Browne Alexis Mone’ Bryant Ashley Bush Nathen A. Byford Abhisek Abhisek Chakraborty Fandi Chang Xiaolin Chang Yen Chang Sultana Mubarika Rahman Chowdhury Glenn T. Colby Darryl Cooney Mike Crowhurst Fanyu Cui Bridget Daly Kingsley Y. Darko Edward Davis Paul Spencer Davis Shamriddha De Aránzazu de Juan Fernández Harshani De Silva Abdellatif Demnati Dilsher Dhillon Joseph Diaco Dominic Dominic DiSanto Sammy Rose Dobrozsi Michael Carl Doerfler Rebecca W. Doerge Tsering Dolkar Qinyuan Dong Andrii Dovhaniuk Jean-Marie Dufour Gabriel DuPree Sonya Eason Chinwendu O. Echefu Jordan Eckert Tobias G. Edwards Joseph Ekpenyong Andrew Erickson Jinrui Fang Matthew Ferrell Daniel Fink Filippo Fiocchi Allison Fischman Lauren J. Frazee Tim Friede Ellery Galvin James Gartside Nihan Gencerliler Nathan Gibson Naomi Giertych Jerome Goh Victoria Gonzales Arkin Gupta Kihyun Han | Md Mahadi Hasan
Lynn Han Michael Hansen Daphna Harel Gyan Harshvardhan Md Mahadi Hasan Zoe Haskell-Craig Matthew Hester Laurie Heyer Erin M. Hodgess Cameron Hogan Jie Hu Marianne Huebner Tim Hulley Noah Hung Osubu Idowu Kojo Incoom-Koomson Vijay Inguva Joshua Inman Sumaiya Islam Yena Jeon Bing Ru Jhou Gang Jia Feiyu Jiang Lulu Jiang Maanya Johri Aaron C. Jones Stuart Jones Anny-Claude Joseph Fikriye Kabakci Alexander Karl Carrie Ketchem Axel Keza Aditya Khan Rebecca Killick Ji Young Kim Janice R. Kleinhenz Lily Koffman Daniel Kojis Kalyani Kothapalli Sanwayee Kundu Bharat Kusuma Victoria Kwamboka Ted Laderas Emily Layden Hyeon Lee Rachana Lele Vianey Leos Barajas Jun Li Qiangwei Li Qunhua Li Wen Li Yimei Li Qinghua Lian Brian Liu Charles Liu Limeng Liu Peijun Liu Sibei Liu Yucong Liu Jeffrey A. Longmate Yuying Lu Marc Mace Maria Laura Manca Jason Mao Lindokuhle N. Matsebula Patrick McHugh Tanvi Mehta Michelle Mellers Tyler Joe Merrill Astghik Mikayelyan Mohamed S. Mohamed Ratlale Mokone Shannon Monahan Kosuke Morikawa Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay Prosper A. Munetsi Ngoc Uyen Thu Nguyen Thang D. Nguyen Emily Nickel Nick Oddo Victor Ornelas Yang Ou Emily L. Ouyang Peprah Owusu Samantha Paniagua Hwan Hee Park Seohyeon Park Sihyung Park So Young Park Stuart Gregory Persyn Jean-Francois Plante Catherine Claire Pollack | Paul Popa
Andrew T. Pope Mark Prell Xinran Qi Allan Quadros George Ekow Quaye Shukurat Rahmon Jayesh P. Rai Charu Rajapaksha Himasha Miurangi Wickramarathne Rajapakshage Shelbie Raposo Tanner Rapp Bhaskar Ray Mina Rezaei Roselina Kezia Rijadi Aaron Rivera Benjamin James Roberts Mattia Rosso Ray Sanchez Marc Anthony Sandoval Sanam Sanei Saidat Abidemi Abidemi Sanni Alexis R. Santos-Lozada Shoaib Sarfraz John Steven Schuler Janet Scott Robin Shedrick Jincheng Shen Narender Sidhu Avinash C. Singh Micah Sjoblom Haley S. Skipper Carson L. Slater Rebecca Soon Samikha Srinivasan Benjamin Stockton Srijana Subedi Kazuto Sumita Wenyue Sun D. Tony Sün Bongjung Sung Kevin Surya Yumi Takagi Zselyke Anna Talata Yuxiao Tang Jennifer Catherine Taub Daniel Taylor Ram Thapa Anthony Thomas Michael Thompson Heling Tong Hung Tong Natalie Turner Mohammad Umar Konrad Urban Eduardo Alfonso Vasquez Shriram Venkatraman Phuc Vu Quan Vu Adolphus Wagala Hao Wang Shuyi Wang Sipeng Wang Yinan Wang Andrew Benjamin Whetten Brylee Wilcox Joseph E. Williams Randy Philip Williams Rivka Win Michael Wolz Thomas Wonder Chih-Hsuan Wu Yi Wu Ruth X Jing Xu Shike Xu Zhenyu Xu Guozheng Yang Joy Yang Tianzhong Yang Lanqiu Yao Mazhar Yaqub Amanda J. Young Yue Zhan Jeffrey T. Zhang Likun Zhang Yifan Zhang Yilin Zhang Yunshu Zhang Zhaoxi Zhang Fengyu Zhao Weiqiang Zhi Haoyu Zhou Li Zhou Ying Zhou |
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