After graduating from the University of Miami, Simone Gray became aware of the critical shortage of math and science teachers in high schools across the United States and became a tutor and mentor before going on to become a full-time mathematics teacher at a low-performing high school in southwest Florida. Gray wanted to continue learning about both math and science, however and decided to leave teaching to pursue a PhD in statistical science at Duke University. Today, she is a senior statistician in the Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.

