Advocacy day brings together social and behavioral scientists and science advocates from across the country to engage with policymakers.
The JEDI Outreach Group held a webinar titled “Building Successful Mentor/Mentee Relationships in the Hybrid Work Era.” Panelists shared their ideas and perspectives through questions posed by the moderators and audience.
Ginger Holt’s journey into the world of statistics and data science began in Fort Worth, Texas, fueled by a family passion for education. She pursued an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering at Texas A&M University and eventually earned a PhD in statistics from Rice University. She loved her first job as assistant professor at the University of Virginia but did not love pursuing research funding, so she transitioned into industry work. Currently at DataBricks, Holt plays a pivotal role in unifying forecasting processes across different domains. Leading her team, she focuses on building tooling in data engineering and data science, aiming to make these processes scalable not only for DataBricks but also for its customers. Her favorite aspect of a career in data science is its ability to foster new learning opportunities.
Jennifer Hill developed an early interest in math and pursued economics in college. However, after working in the corporate world, she went back to school for graduate degrees from Rutgers and Harvard that allowed her to focus on causal inference and social policy. Currently professor of applied statistics at NYU Steinhardt, Hill has created software that makes it easier for applied researchers to use sophisticated methods in a way that helps them have a deeper understanding of what methods they are using and why. She notes, “Answering real questions with real data is the best and biggest challenge there is.”