November always invites us to pause and give thanks. In the US, it’s the month of Thanksgiving, and, by tradition, this column has been a time for ASA presidents to express gratitude for our members, board, staff, and partners who make everything we do possible.
I want to continue that spirit, but in a slightly different way. This year, I’d like to turn the spotlight on those who rarely stand in it, our “hidden gems.”
By hidden gems, I mean statisticians and data scientists whose contributions often go unseen. They are the ones who quietly and steadily advance science, strengthen communities, support education, and protect public health without expecting recognition. To honor them, I invited members to submit names, affiliations, and a few words about why these individuals inspire them. I’m proud to use this column to lift up their work.
This idea echoes a theme I’ve returned to throughout the year—in my JSM President’s Address and in talks titled “Everyday Statistician’s Impact” or “How Statisticians Make a Difference in Science and the Community.” Behind the breakthroughs and headlines, it’s the steady, everyday work of colleagues like these that keeps our field moving forward.
Before I turn the spotlight on them, I want first to express my gratitude to the many others who keep the ASA thriving.
First, you. You are the ASA. You are one of the owners of this professional home we share, and your contributions, made in various ways, form its foundation.
To our volunteers in sections, chapters, committees, and interest groups: Thank you for the energy and heart you bring! To those leading presidential initiatives such as the Clinical Trials Certificate Program (Amarjot Kaur, Antje Hoering, Donna LaLonde, Lisa LaVange, and Nolan Wages) and Nature Medicine Statistical Advisory Panel chiefs (Judy Zhong, Natalie Dean, Michele Guindani), as well as the 45 SAP members—your dedication has been extraordinary. Additionally, we have begun preparing a grant proposal to a philanthropy group, aiming to enhance clinical evidence generation to inform policy and practice, with Ruixiao Lu and LaLonde leading the effort. The volunteers who power the StatsForward program, aimed at helping early-career professionals develop as leaders, also deserve our recognition.
Under this year’s theme of building strong and sustainable bridges beyond the ASA, we’ve developed new memorandums of understanding, including with Nature Medicine and the American Evaluation Association. Their openness and enthusiasm for collaboration remind me that our profession’s reach and relevance continue to grow.
And, of course, I cannot imagine my presidency without the steady guidance of the ASA Board of Directors, ASA staff, and the leadership of Ron Wasserstein and LaLonde. In a year when the scientific and funding landscape under the new administration has often felt chaotic, they have been the backbone of everything we’ve accomplished together.
Now, let’s turn to those hidden gems, the colleagues whose quiet impact we should never overlook.
Mina Peyton wrote this about her colleague Jingwen Gu:
Jingwen is a remarkable statistician. She serves as a statistician within the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at NIAID and exemplifies all the above—steadfastly advance sciences through all the research collaborations she supports, serves NIAID and the broader NIH communities, supports education through providing statistical seminars, and protects the public health through implementing rigorous statistical data analysis. She is a delightful colleague to work with—gracious, kind, and deeply dedicated—whose work ethic and integrity continually inspire me and those around her to strive for excellence.
Ann Brearley shared this about her colleague Laura Le:
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Laura Le for the last 12 years. She is well on her way to being a great biostatistics educator and leader. She inspires and draws out the best from her students; her co-instructors and teaching assistants; other faculty; and her collaborators locally, nationally, and internationally. Her creativity, high standards, dedication to her students, deep knowledge of statistics education theory and approaches, and boundless energy and enthusiasm have a positive effect on everyone around her and have deeply impacted my own teaching and scholarship. I consider it an honor to be her colleague!
Alexandra Hanlon is inspired by Wenyan Ji:
Wenyan inspires me because she quietly does the hard work behind the scenes with no fanfare and no expectation of recognition. She brings a strong statistical voice, fearless honesty, and unwavering dedication, and she always gets the job done—often faster and more rigorously than seems possible. She truly embodies what it means to be a hidden gem.
Mithat Gonen and Deb Schrag nominated their colleague Katherine Panageas:
Kathy is a true hidden gem because her most impactful contributions are the ones that are often unquantified and unseen. While her statistical expertise is excellent, her profound effect comes from being an outstanding mentor and communicator who quietly elevates everyone around her. She consistently focuses on lifting her team and colleagues up, improving their work and confidence little by little, every single day. Because she pours her energy into making others better, her immense value—the very foundation of her team’s daily success—is easily missed by formal metrics and systems that fail to capture this essential, pervasive support. She’s the indispensable rising tide that gets no credit for the ships it floats.
Staci Hepler shared this about her colleague Emily Huang:
Emily is an amazing professor who is extraordinarily dedicated to her students. She frequently mentors undergraduate and graduate students in research, and in doing so helps prepare the next generation of statisticians, biostatisticians, and data scientists. She selflessly serves the department and has a huge positive impact on the culture and day-to-day functionality. The department of statistical sciences at Wake Forest University is lucky to have Emily Huang!
Margo Anderson nominated Dan Cork and shared this:
Daniel Cork joined the Massive Data Institute and the McCourt School of Public Policy as a senior fellow in April 2025, bringing nearly 25 years of experience from the Committee on National Statistics at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He began his tenure at CNSTAT in the summer of 2000, initially supporting the panel to review the 2000 Census. Over the next two decades, he played a leading role in virtually every CNSTAT study related to the US decennial census and the American Community Survey through 2024. [From Massive Data Institute website]
Jun Yan’s hidden gem is Glen Colopy:
Glen Wright Colopy is a true hidden gem in our community. He has served the ASA Section on Statistical Learning and Data Science with dedication, first as webmaster and later as program chair, and was rightly recognized with a service award. Beyond formal roles, Glen has poured energy into promoting the field through his widely followed YouTube and podcast interviews, where he brings statisticians and data scientists to broader audiences with clarity and enthusiasm. He has also organized webinars that deliver practical data science skills to those who most need them, such as laboratory scientists who benefit from direct, hands-on guidance. In addition, Glen has supported the Journal of Data Science by leading the Philosophies of Data Science section, curating exemplary commentaries that emphasize the role of critical scientific reasoning in our discipline. His multifaceted contributions exemplify the quiet, steadfast work that sustains and inspires our profession.
Jonathan Auerbach is inspired by Chris Moriarity:
Chris Moriarity is the webmaster for the Washington Statistical Society, the largest chapter of the American Statistical Association. Chris has worked very hard for many years to keep the website updated and disseminate scientific information like the Hansen and Cox lectures to 700+ members and the public. Our community is much stronger because of his work.
Caleb King nominated Ryan Lekivetz:
Ryan has made it his life’s work to improve the state of software testing and validation through the use of design of experiment methodology. He has tirelessly worked to promote DOE methods in this area for well over a decade now. Furthermore, he has been and continues to be a source of encouragement for young statisticians, helping to promote their work and engagement in the broader statistics community.
Ayaz Khan shared this about Christian Pascual:
Christian is the founder of the YouTube channel “Very Normal,” with over 100k+ subscribers covering statistical concepts at a beginner to advanced level. Christian is at the forefront of statistical and data science learning and is emerging to be a creator inspiring other people to take up statistics.
I’ve highlighted just a few of our hidden gems, but they make up only a fraction of the countless individuals who deserve recognition. Every success we celebrate rests on many acts of generosity, the colleague who stayed late to help troubleshoot a problem, the community member who shared their expertise, the teammate who offered a word of encouragement when things got tough. As we look ahead, let’s pause and acknowledge those around us who make our work meaningful and our communities stronger. Gratitude isn’t reserved for formal occasions or grand gestures; it thrives in the everyday moments when we take time to truly see and appreciate one another. I am grateful to be part of the amazing ASA community.
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