Felicity Enders fell in love with data and statistics while she was earning her Master of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As a result, she landed in the PhD biostatistics program there, as well. Formerly head of the section of clinical statistics at Mayo Clinic, her proudest moment thus far has been her transition from teaching statistics focusing on health equity, workforce diversity, and inclusion as director for the Mayo Clinic Office for Research Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity “It’s always scary to jump into something new without knowing whether it will work,” she wrote. “I am incredibly thankful for all the people who have supported me in this transition. I believe there is a great deal to be done in this space, both statistically and otherwise, and I am excited to help move the field forward.”
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D. Anthony Miles
During college, D. Anthony Miles played in a rock-and-roll/heavy metal band that tried to get a record deal. That did not happen. Life happened. Instead, he graduated with a degree in marketing from The University of Texas at San Antonio and went into the banking industry. It was while working as a marketing analyst at Wells Fargo Bank that Miles discovered he had an interest in statistics. His passion for the profession, however, was encouraged by his uncle—the late Ralph E. Miles, a biostatistician. “It was my uncle who nurtured my love of the practice of statistics, and I credit all my accomplishments to him,” said Miles. He has presented his statistics research at conferences around the country and appeared on several major news networks and programs as a subject matter expert. Currently, he leads a nine-person research team.
Lester Mackey
Lester Mackey’s interest in statistics unfolded when he was a student immersed in the Ross Mathematics Program, an intense eight-week summer curriculum in number theory designed to expose teenagers to proof-based mathematics. His interest in machine learning was piqued, however, when he competed for the million-dollar Netflix Prize during his senior year in college. His team lost by twenty minutes, but the experience opened the door to his future. “Every day,” Mackey noted, “I reflect on my good fortune at finding a field (machine learning) and a job (researcher) that I truly love. My work scarcely seems like work, as it’s exactly what I would be doing even if no one was paying me.”
Sean Simpson
Sean Simpson grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and attended majority Black public schools throughout his childhood. Simpson’s parents supplemented his education through programs such as the Richmond Area Program for Minorities in Engineering and Center for Talented Youth. However, it was when he watched a presentation about biostatistics during his junior year at Harvard University that his career path became clear to him. He is now a biostatistics professor at Wake Forest University and was elected an ASA Fellow in 2022—an honor that served as a culmination of his contributions to the field.
Talithia Williams
Growing up in a small town in Georgia, Talithia Williams loved playing pretend, but in all her imagining, she never saw herself as a statistician. She knew those people existed, but no one who looked like her did those things, so it never occurred to her it was something to aspire to. Fortunately, her high-school AP Calculus teacher, Mr. Dorman, told her she should major in math in college. His affirmation planted a seed that changed her trajectory. She was accepted to Spelman College and awarded a NASA Women in Science and Engineering scholarship. There, she was exposed to African American women with PhDs in STEM and consequently went on to earn her PhD in statistics from Rice University. Today, she is an associate professor of mathematics and mathematics clinic program director at Harvey Mudd College.
Celebrating Black History Month 2023
In celebration of Black History Month, we recognize 12 individuals from the Black/African American collective who have made tremendous contributions to the statistics field as mentors, professors, and entrepreneurs.
Highlights of the November 2022 ASA Board of Directors Meeting
On Friday, November 18, ASA President Kathy Ensor gaveled to order the final 2022 meeting of the ASA Board of Directors. The board met at the ASA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
Applications for ASA Science Policy Fellowship Wanted
The ASA seeks applications for its fall of 2023 science policy fellowship. A one- to two-year position, the fellow will be based at the ASA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia; however, they will spend much of their time in Washington, DC, advocating for statistics and experiencing first-hand how federal science policy is formed.
NSF Appoints New Statistics Program Directors
Yong Zeng of the University of Missouri-Kansas City became a permanent program director and Jun Zhu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison became a rotator program director of the Division of Mathematical Sciences in the National Science Foundation Directorate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences this fall.
My ASA Story: Mike Jadoo, Bureau of Labor Statistics Economist
Mike Jadoo, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Office of Productivity and Technology, first learned about the American Statistical Association from a coworker who was going to the Joint Statistical Meetings.