| Full Name | Affiliation | Statement |
Director of Engineering, Science & Product at Zalando Scientific Advisor at The Institute for Ethical AI AI Expert for the United Nations Advisory Body on AI Board Member at the ACM AI Expert for the OECD AI AI Expert at the European Commission AI Office | Alejandro has been an active member of the NumFocus community throughout virtually the past decade, contributing to numerous PyData conferences and NumFocus initiatives, as well as advocating for NumFocus and it's ecosystem of projects and community. Key contributions include features of the NumFocus case studies (numfocus.org/case-studies) showcasing how the NumFocus tools are supporting accountability and ethics within AI and Machine Learning ecosystem (https://numfocus.org/case-studies/ethics-in-ai-ml), as well as the featured keynotes, talks and workshops at annual PyData community events.
Alejandro has extensive experience providing strategic leadership across open source and non-profit organisations, contributing with advice and guidance on strategic, technical, compliance and fiscal matters. In regards to advisory and non-executive roles, Alejandro is currently appointed as AI Expert at the United Nations High Level Advisory Board on AI, contributing to important topics on AI safety for society. He is also currently appointed as Elected Board Member for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) where he also serves as Chair of the AI Policy committee for Europe. He is also an organisational member at the Linux Foundation, Chair of the technology advisory committee for GPU Acceleration and Chair of the ML Security committee.
Beyond advisory roles, Alejandro is currently the Director of Engineering, Science and Product at Zalando SE, where he is responsible for the large-scale platforms powering Supply & Demand across Zalando, including one of Zalando's central data platforms and several state of the art ML systems powering critical infrastructure. Alejandro is also the Chief Scientist at the Institute for Ethical AI, where he has led key initiatives contributing to the responsible design, development and operation of AI & Data systems; some highlights include adopted contributions in European policy across the AI Act, the Data Act and the Digital Services Act, and the UK Data Strategy - among others. |
Enthought | I just completed my third and last year as the SciPy conference co-chair and was tutorials co-chair for SciPy 2017–2020. I led the return of SciPy as an in-person conference and through the tensions that led to SciPy leaving Austin, TX. I believes a clear purpose can make a community stronger.
My professional experience at Enthought (currently Director of Operations, previously VP of Digital Transformation, Director of Training, and Scientific Python trainer) led me to develop strong strategic and organizational skills. During my tenure as director of training, I was also responsible for the sales and marketing function of the training business.
I'm passionate about transforming people and their work. I strongly believes in enabling people to achieve their full potential by providing them with the organizational, financial, and technical support they need. |
NVIDIA | Andy is a leader in the Python open data science community (PyData) with over 1000 citations of his academic articles. His has worked on numerous foundational systems including the Dask distributed computing framework, the Conda package manager, and the SymPy symbolic computing library. He has also been a leader at several companies in the space including Anaconda and NVIDIA. |
Ex Chapter Lead | PyData Alumni Academy of Women Entrepreneur (AWE) Alumni US Exchange Program Alumni YALI Regional Leadership Center, West Africa CM Machine Learning | Amazon Web Services Member | PyCon Mentor | Google Africa Developer Scholarship Mentor | Women in Africa Mentor | AnitaB Mentor | Black Girls in Tech Growth and Development Lead| Hult Prize Foundation. Country Lead & Ambassador |Women Tech Network Women in Tech Global Ex Chapter Lead | She Code Africa- BC | Bernice is an accomplished data scientist and community leader with over a decade of experience in open-source software development and data analysis. She holds a BENG in Computer Science f, where her research focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Bernice has contributed significantly to several major open-source projects, including NumPy, SciPy, and Pandas, where her innovative solutions and leadership have driven these projects forward.
Bernice’s extensive experience includes serving as a core developer and maintainer for multiple widely-used Python libraries. Her commitment to the open-source community is evident through her regular participation in conferences, workshops, and mentoring programs. Bernice has a strong track record of fostering collaboration and inclusivity within technical communities, making her an exceptional candidate for the Administrative Board. |
PwC, Loyola University Chicago, GPT-Engineer | I'm a massive nerd. Full stop. I've built my career at the intersection of technology and business, and am deeply nerdy in my pursuits in both domains. I'm a passionate data scientist, AI enthusiast and business leader. I find it a bit awkward and uncomfortable to speak about my credentials, but a few relevant details of the past several years are probably worth highlighting in this context.
I recently concluded my tenure serving as Vice Chairman and Director of the Board at OIX (formerly Open-IX), a not-for-profit organization and ANSI accredited standards organization whose mission is to standardize connectivity at Internet Exchanges and data centers. I was recruited to OIX to assist in expanding the strategic and technical missions of the organization. I'm proud of the work done by the excellent team there in the years that I was fortunate to contribute.
Presently, my full-time professional efforts are engaged as the leader of the Accelerators software product business at PwC. Since 2019, when we started the Products & Technology business, I've had the great pleasure of building an amazing team of technologists and product gurus with whom we've built some truly exciting and differentiating technology. With the mainstream availability of generative AI in 2022, I've been hands on in the technical leadership of our AI Studio which has been one of the most rewarding times of my professional career!
I have also been quite fortunate to be a founding faculty member of the Master’s in Business Data Analytics program at Loyola University Chicago, where I teach machine learning in Python. I'm presently enjoying a sabbatical, which frees up some time that I would love to contribute to NumFOCUS!
I'm an active open-source software community member. Last year I had the privilege of BENG invited to the core development team of the popular GPT-Engineer AI code generation project, and I enjoy the opportunity I have each week to work with other open-source machine learning and software engineers in the community.
I'm such a fan of NumFOCUS projects! I'm a longtime user of Pandas, Jupyter, Conda, Conda-Forge, NumPy, Scikit-learn, Matplotlib ... NumFOCUS projects power so much of the Python data science ecosystem! (My rather minor contribution to this wonderful ecosystem, as of a few years back, is that I am the maintainer of the Python Spotipy package on Conda-Forge. Packaging and maintaining Spotify for Conda-Forge was born out of a machine learning project of mine to build a model which could predict the popularity of a song based on its musical attributes ... so fun!)
PyData is AMAZING! I've consumed countless hundreds of hours of brilliant conference talks and content over the years. In fact, I was lined up to speak at PyData Warsaw in 2017 but had to drop due to competing professional commitments. (I was midstream in my consulting career at the time, and the consulting lifestyle is so volatile. I'm pleased to have pivoted out of that demanding career back in 2019.) I remain eager to reprioritize time to share details of some of the projects I work on at upcoming PyData conferences.
On a more personal note, I love specialty coffee and geeking out with my laptop-powered Aillio Bullet in pursuit of perfecting the roasting of deliciously berry-forward notes of Ethiopian Yirgachefe coffee. I recently took delivery of over 20kgs of green Misty Valley Yirgachefe coffee beans to feed my roasting hobby for the balance of the summer months. With 4kgs roasted during my last roasting session, I'm enjoying a lovely pour over cup of this Ethiopian delight as I write!
I'm so very excited at the prospect of contributing to an organization that I have long admired! I appreciate your consideration and hope to have the opportunity to work together in this noble effort! |
dottxt, Inc. | Dan has worked in software for 20+ years, been an contributor to many open source packages in both R and Python, and led many teams that combine commercial software development with open source. He has worked with open source in both an academic and industry capacity, for example, in his work creating the bootES R package and a peer reviewed journal article describing the use of the package.
He is currently the CTO of dottxt, Inc., an early-stage company focused on structured generation that sponsors the ""outlines"" open source package. |
LDP Memorial Scholarship Fund Inc (NON-PROFIT), Twenty-One Parcels Limitada, Palmer Asset Management LLC, and Harvester Capital Management LLC. | My programming and technological business acumen dates back to the early 1990's. During that time I created an application used by floor traders on multiples trading floors, and helped design the first trading application for auto-quoting with Bridge Data on the floor of the American Stock Exchange. I have successfully run businesses since that time. Whether I was running my firm, which at its peak had one hundred employees in two countries and a programming dev team of five, or simply working by myself. Throughout all I have never turned my back on what one individual can do with a little time and some software. To this day I continue to program, python of course with machine learning, and have been the recipient of the largesse of open source and find myself desperately wanting to give back by giving of my time and experience. While I might be a good choice for the technical role, I am leaning towards the administrative for this round of nominations. Thank you for your time. |
Windward Fund, National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, Fiscal Sponsor Hub | While my work in conservation and the environment is adjacent to NumFOCUS’ mission, the foundation of the organization, supporting open source software to drive impact and innovation, is crucial to progress across fields. Solving the climate crisis requires transparency; collaboration across sectors, geographies, and cultures; and replicability and scalability – all of which are core tenets of the open source community.
The nature of fiscal sponsorship offers unique operational challenges and opportunities:
- Fiscal sponsors are often more agile, meaning they can move both money and ideas in ways that more bureaucratic organizations often cannot;
- They are able to reach populations that large corporations and donors are often unaware even exist;
- They can foster community for mission-aligned groups and reduce administrative burdens, maximizing programmatic impact;
- They must carefully balance risk – the actions, decisions, and needs of individual projects can significantly impact the whole ecosystem; and
- They have a unique revenue model that can make investing in the organization’s growth challenging
The strategic planning work for the organization will need to play to these strengths and take into account potential challenges to ensure long-term success and sustainability for the organization. I would welcome the ability to actively participate in the success of a local Austin-based fellow fiscal sponsor, whose work is so crucial to my own mission and values. I would bring significant experience with fiscal sponsors to the role. I have worked for or supported seven different fiscal sponsor organizations and partnered with half a dozen more on various initiatives. I have a strong financial background and am currently the Director of Finance and Operations for Windward Fund, an environment focused fiscal sponsor non-profit that supports conservation and environmental science projects. My experience across fiscal sponsor organizations includes:
- Financial Operations: overseeing comprehensive financial systems, ensuring fiscal integrity, and optimizing financial performance
- Risk Management: developing a risk framework and implementation plan to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations, as well as determine organizational exposure to non-legal risks.
- Grants Management for Fiscally Sponsored Projects: helping projects to secure and managing grant funding, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, and sourcing funding opportunities
- Management of Large Fiscal Sponsor Organizations: handling the complexities of organizations with over 100 projects, ensuring seamless operations and effective project oversight
- Philanthropic Investing: strategic investments that drive philanthropic goals and foster sustainable impact
- Tax Requirements for Nonprofits: tax regulations and compliance requirements for nonprofit organizations
- Legal Requirements for Nonprofits: legal frameworks governing nonprofit entities
- Ethical and Legal Concerns in Scientific Research: the ethical considerations and legal obligations pertinent to scientific projects
- Strategic Planning: developing and implementing strategic plans that align with organizational goals |
I am a Senior Software Engineer at JuliaHub, in the past, I’ve been a mentor for Numfocus Google Summer of Codes project and I have also served as NumFOCUS Champions Circle Committee member for the year 2021 and 2022.I’ve been with JuliaHub (Formerly JuliaComputing Pvt Ltd) since past 9 years, JuliaHub has been heavily involved with Numfocus affiliated projects (Current and past) such as Julia, FluxML and SciML. This inspired me to make contributions to these projects early on in my career. I’ve recently completed CopyrightX course from HarvardX in 2023, a program conducted by Harvard Law school, this has given me immense knowledge in the field of Copyright and brief overview on how copyrights and patents work in real world. | I am a Senior Software Engineer at JuliaHub, in the past, I’ve been a mentor for Numfocus Google Summer of Codes project and I have also served as NumFOCUS Champions Circle Committee member for the year 2021 and 2022.I’ve been with JuliaHub (Formerly JuliaComputing Pvt Ltd) since past 9 years, JuliaHub has been heavily involved with Numfocus affiliated projects (Current and past) such as Julia, FluxML and SciML. This inspired me to make contributions to these projects early on in my career. I’ve recently completed CopyrightX course from HarvardX in 2023, a program conducted by Harvard Law school, this has given me immense knowledge in the field of Copyright and brief overview on how copyrights and patents work in real world. The combination of all the experiences and knowledge gained over the years, will definitely help me in steering Numfocus towards sustainability and success if given an opportunity in Numfocus Administrative Board. |
Google Summer of Code Organization Admin | My dedication to open-source collaboration and scientific research has been a cornerstone of my career. Through my work with organizations such as The Carpentries, the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS), rOpenSci, and Frictionless Data, I have contributed to community-driven educational programs and promoted open practices in research. As a Google Summer of Code administrator for NumFOCUS and the SQL lesson maintainer for The Carpentries, I’ve actively supported open-source education and helped mentor the next generation of tech professionals.
Driven by a shared vision of fostering an inclusive, innovative scientific community, I am eager to contribute to the NumFOCUS Board of Directors. I am particularly committed to advocating for projects that promote data-driven and reproducible science, while also embracing advancements in AI and machine learning. By leveraging my experience in business administration, electrical engineering, and computer science, I aim to help NumFOCUS navigate the evolving landscape of technology, ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of open-source projects that drive impactful discoveries and advance scientific research. |
Anaconda, Inc., and HoloViz.org | I'm deeply honored to have been nominated to serve on the NumFocus Board. I've been committed to open source for the past 35 years, originally as a grad student and professor, where I taught courses covering open source and ensured that all of our research code was made freely available. Only a few people ever actually used our academic code, but now that I and some of my former students are in industry and able to employ a whole team of developers, we've been able to develop and maintain powerful libraries at a much larger scale using corporate and government funding. The tools in the NumFocus-sponsored HoloViz project are now downloaded millions of times per month and used extensively across scientific and research areas and in both industry and universities. I hope to use my experience with running academic research centers and enterprise software development teams to further NumFocus's mission to benefit all of the users and developers of open source worldwide. |
MetaDocencia | CONICET - National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Argentina | I am deeply committed to the open-source scientific community, actively participating as an organizer for the Buenos Aires chapter of R-Ladies. I also serve as Chair of the advisory board and Impact Measurement Coordinator at MetaDocencia, an organization focused on promoting Open Science in Latin America. In 2023, I contributed to the NumFOCUS DISC unconference, collaborating on a project to develop training for Latin American and African researchers on securing international funding, for which we are currently seeking funding, with plans for 2025. Additionally, I develop open educational resources focused on reproducible workflows for satellite image analysis as part of a NASA-funded project through MetaDocencia and 2i2c. My motivation to volunteer on the NumFOCUS Board stems from my belief in the organization's mission to promote open practices in research and data science. As a researcher in Latin America, I understand the challenges of adopting open science practices, which stem from cultural beliefs, institutional assessments, the time required to learn and implement these practices, and the reliance on volunteer or unpaid work. I also recognize their importance, not only for reproducibility and validation but also for democratizing access to information and increasing the representation of underrepresented communities in science. Open practices foster collaboration, which has the potential to overcome many of the technological and economic limitations we face in our region. |
SciPy Conference Co-Chair | Julie Hollek has been a long time user and champion of Scientific Python and the ecosystem. Most recently, she was the Director of Data Science at Mozilla where her teams heavily leveraged the SciPy stack. She managed a team of talented individual contributors and managers, setting strategic direction for the data science organization, and managed a budget covering both salaries and program spend.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are important topics to Julie, and in that light, one of her lasting contributions to Mozilla was adding a DEIB tenet to the career level guide for all roles, giving folks expectations and standards of inclusive and welcoming behavior set forth by the guide. She co-founded MozAPI, the Asian Pacific Islander employee resource group at Mozilla. At a previous company, she founded Neustar Women in Technology, supporting women technologists both internally and externally.
Julie has experience in community organizing, having been a PyLadies SF organizer for several years in the past. She previously served on the DISC committee, making contributions that made their way into the The NumFOCUS DISCOVER Cookbook during that time. She is currently a co-chair of the SciPy Conference and has volunteered in other capacities with the conference over the last 10 years including chairing or co-chairing the following committees: communications, diversity, Birds of a Feather, and program. A large part of her work has been bringing the values of the DISCOVER Cookbook to the Conference. Julie has also been a speaker at several conferences talking about topics relating to diversity and inclusion trends (SciPy Conference), trust & safety (PyData Austin), and data governance (Data Council). Julie would bring a unique perspective to the Administrative board, as her experiences and background blend technical, organizational, and community building skills. |
The Home Depot | Nguyen is an accomplished leader with a strong background in AI, analytics, and data engineering. As the former Head of Data Engineering and Analytics at Chewy, he has improved the company’s operational efficiencies using AI and designed anti-fraud algorithms. He has demonstrated his thought leadership in the field with articles in multiple publications, peer-reviewed research papers, symposiums, and podcasts—including Chewy’s AI in Action podcast. In 2022, he was recognized in CDO Magazine’s “40 Under Forty Data Leaders.” With undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Nguyen previously was Senior Director and Head of Enterprise Data and AI at 7-Eleven. Most recently, he joined as the leader and Director of Enterprise Data and Analytics at The Home Depot. |
Professional Affiliations: • Freelance Data & AI Scientist (Former Data Science & Analytics Manager) • Data Science and AI Mentor at Great Learning Volunteer Affiliations: • Lead Organizer, HydPy • Co-Chair, PyCon India 2023 • Co-Chair, PyConf Hyderabad 2022 • Small Development Grants Review Committee, NumFOCUS • PyData Impact Scholarship Mentor • AI Judge at Geekle AI Educative Hackathon 1.0 • Kaggle BIPOC Advisor for Cohort 3 & 4 • Member, Code of Conduct Committee (PyCon India & PyConf Hyderabad) • Member, Diversity & Inclusion Group (PyCon India & PyConf Hyderabad) • Organizer, Speaker, Reviewer, and Mentor at Various Conferences: o Including PyCon US, JupyterCon, EuroPython, SciPy, PyData Global, PyCon India, PyCon APAC, PyCon JP, Google Developer Groups, etc. |
I am deeply committed to advancing the open-source scientific community and fostering innovation and inclusivity. My journey from a newspaper delivery boy to a freelance data scientist reflects my dedication to lifelong learning and community support. Over the past six years, I have been actively involved in the open-source ecosystem, serving as Lead Organizer of HydPy since 2019, Co-Chair of PyConf Hyderabad since 2022, and Co-Chair of PyCon India 2023. In these roles, I have gained significant experience in strategic planning, fundraising, and community leadership, which are essential for the governance of an organization like NumFOCUS.
Since 2023, I have served on the NumFOCUS Small Development Grants Review Committee, where I review grant applications and recommend funding for projects that advance scientific computing and data science. This experience has deepened my understanding of NumFOCUS’s mission and the importance of careful financial stewardship in supporting community-driven initiatives.
In my professional career, I have held positions as a Data Science & Analytics Manager and currently work as a freelance Data & AI Scientist. These roles have involved leading diverse teams, managing project budgets, and developing strategic plans to ensure the success of complex projects. I have substantial experience in organizational finance, including budget creation, financial oversight, and ensuring compliance with contracts. My work in the open-source community has also involved marketing and sales efforts, such as securing sponsorships, promoting events, and managing social media strategies.
I am eager to serve on the NumFOCUS Administrative Board because I believe in contributing to its strategic direction and ensuring the organization’s continued success. My experience in organizational finance, strategic planning, and community leadership positions me well to support NumFOCUS’s goals and contribute meaningfully to its mission.
Thank you for considering my nomination. I am excited about the opportunity to bring my experience, passion, and dedication to the NumFOCUS Administrative Board and contribute to its ongoing growth and success. |
MD Anderson Cancer Center Texas University | Luca Zammataro, in addition to BENG a data scientist, is particularly active in the administrative field of the LLC he founded. His passion lies in promoting open source as a sustainable business model, especially in clinical research areas where budgets are not particularly high. He firmly believes that an ethical business model, based on the free distribution of software infrastructure for hospitals and research centers, can significantly aid developing countries that need the same opportunities as richer countries in promptly diagnosing degenerative diseases and cancer. With over two decades of dedicated experience, Luca Zammataro brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective. His expertise in pathology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and immunoinformatics, particularly in the intersection of AI/ML and Medical Imaging, is unparalleled. He is an Institute Senior Research Scientist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, with solid experience in Machine Learning and Bioinformatics, particularly in immune-oncology and immunoinformatics. As a highly accomplished Medical Doctor (MD), Pathologist, and Ph.D. holder specializing in Complex Systems applied to post-genomics, he has dedicated his career to bridging the gap between computational methods and disease diagnosis, particularly in Precision Medicine. His expertise spans a range of advanced techniques in molecular biology, including Whole Exome Sequencing (WES), Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), RNA sequencing, PacBio Long Reads Sequencing, and single-cell RNA sequencing, which he has proficiently applied to cancer neoantigen discovery. His work often involves developing and applying computational models to address complex biological problems, exemplified by his contributions to simulation codes in various molecular dynamics projects. In addition to his academic role, he is involved in the corporate sector as founder and manager at Lunan Foldomics LLC, a company based in Houston, Texas. |
Cohere, PyData Amsterdam, CorrelAid NL, 510 | I am a passionate advocate for open-source scientific computing and have dedicated my efforts to building strong, inclusive communities around open source data science.
- Conference Chair of PyData Amsterdam since 2018, growing the conference from a small event to a professional conference attracting nearly 1,000 attendees
- Organized PyData Festival Amsterdam in 2020, an online event organized on short notice, which laid the groundwork for what would become PyData Global.
- Conference Chair of PyData Global in 2021
- Active PyData community member, having attended and given talks at PyCon US, PyData BE, PyData London, PyData Amsterdam and PyData Eindhoven.
I have dedicated my efforts to fostering a robust PyData community. If elected to the board, I aim to elevate this commitment further. NumFOCUS is built on two key pillars: education (PyData) and projects. My vision is to integrate these two areas more closely. I believe that projects can flourish by cultivating deeper connections with their communities, ultimately boosting both user engagement and contributions. |
European Spallation Source ERIC (employer) NetworkX (Core Developer/Steering Council) Scientific Python(Community Manager team) Econ-ARK(Core Developer) SciPy US [2024, 2023] (Maintainers track co-chair) NumFOCUS Infrastructure committee (member) NumFOCUS SDG committee (member) | Over the past decade, NumFOCUS has achieved a great deal and it has been able to gain (and maintain) a critical mass in the wider scientific open source ecosystem. By serving on the administrative board, I would like to help sustain this momentum and secure a robust future for NumFOCUS and it's projects.
Over the past few years I have been involved with various parts of the NumFOCUS community:
-
I have been volunteering on the SDG and infrastructure committee for the last couple of years. I also helped run the GSoC program for NumFOCUS projects from 2017 to 2023 (200 projects over 7 summers!).
-
I have been contributing to NumFOCUS projects since 2015 and I'm in the core developer teams of NetworkX and Econ-ARK. I was also the co-PI on a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative EOSS grant that let me work on NetworkX for the last 2 years. I have also been involved with others community projects like Scientific Python and some small contributions all around the ecosystem. As part of my maintainer duties I have been lucky to mentor new folks (through programs like Outreachy, GSoC, internships) joining our communities.
-
On the education and organization front I helped start the PyData Dubai meetup and we ran multiple events in 2023. I have moved away but I am happy that we were able to reach the momentum to keep the meetup running. I have also presented talks, tutorials, helped organised sprints, helped with reviewing proposals at multiple PyData and SciPy [US/Euro] conferences over the years.
Currently, I work at the European Spallation Source, focusing on scientific open source software for neutron science. We use lots of projects from the NumFOCUS community :)
I believe I can be a valuable addition to the administrative board and NumFOCUS can use our collective networks in the broader ecosystem to set strategic plans. I have experience with grant financials and if giving talks about why supporting the broader scientific OSS ecosystem/NumFOCUS is important counts as marketing, I have been doing that for some time too :)
By joining the administrative board, I aim to leverage my experience and passion to further strengthen NumFOCUS and its impact on the scientific open source community.
Plus I absolutely love reading legal and financial statements for fun (neither a lawyer or accountant!).
Please do feel free to reach out to me if folks have any questions!
fun fact: SymPy was my first-ever open source contribution! Can't believe it's been almost 10 years since I made that PR!! |
PSF/DSF/PyLadies/R-Ladies/Data Visualisation Society/MIT/Indian School of business (ISB) | I am a data scientist, dive professional, strategist, artist, public speaker, and community builder, deeply committed to the open-source scientific community. My work has consistently focused on improving lives and lowering entry barriers through technology and creative solutions.
Contributor to open-source libraries such as SciPy, NumPy, and Conbench. Love building scalable models and designing end-to-end solutions.
Always chasing the big picture, building business and implementing tech solutions.
As the founder & resident artist at getabsto.com (humble business: where art meets community), I successfully built and scaled an online platform, achieving a 150% organic growth in subscriptions and social media following within a year. This success stemmed from strategic planning and hands-on execution, including organizing on-site events at markets, concerts, clubs, and other venues to expand my brand presence. I also led comprehensive marketing campaigns, managed customer requests, and oversaw all aspects of sales, inventory and marketing. This one-woman hustle is fueled by my passion for building a business that resonates with people and meets their diverse needs.
My entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of Eaze4U.com, an idea born at MIT Bootcamps. This business focuses on making finance easy and accessible for the pre-millennial generation, simplifying complex financial jargon and providing tools that cater specifically to their needs. Through Eaze4U.com, I have combined my technical expertise with a deep understanding of market trends, making finance more approachable for a demographic that often feels overlooked.
In addition to my business ventures, I have applied my data science skills to real-world scenarios. One notable project was my contribution to PeakHealth.tech, in collaboration with the Indian School of Business (ISB), where I led a diverse team. This project leveraged the power of open-source tools to analyze data and provide actionable insights into occupational burnout. Our work not only addressed a pressing issue but also showcased the potential of open-source solutions in solving complex, real-world problems.
Beyond my professional and entrepreneurial roles, I am actively involved in the open-source and tech communities. I am a member of the Global R-Ladies team and the Diversity and Inclusion Work Group at the Python Software Foundation (PSF), where I contribute to fostering inclusive environments. I also served in various leadership and advisory roles, including as a founding committee member of the NumFocus project incubator, work group member at RSE Asia, and board member at Django Software Foundation. My contributions extend to reviewing and advising in other key tech communities, including CFP reviewer for Pyjamas Conf 2022, technical advisor at Catalyst Cooperative, and past roles with the India Inclusion Council at Twilio India and the Linux Professional Institute.
Navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape, securing funding, and conducting market research are key aspects of my work, enabling me to drive success in both technical and business ventures. My ability to juggle these complex roles, coupled with my creative and strategic thinking, allows me to bring a diverse skill set to critical scenarios.
Eager to contribute and drive impact! |
PyMC, PyMC Labs | Dedication to Open Source Scientific Community As a co-author of PyMC, a NumFOCUS-sponsored project, I have demonstrated a strong commitment to open source scientific software. I actively promote open source tools through speaking engagements, writing tutorials, and mentoring new contributors. My work involves collaborating with researchers from various disciplines to apply PyMC to real-world scientific problems, furthering the reach and impact of open source in science.
Contributions to NumFOCUS Projects and Community My primary contribution to the NumFOCUS ecosystem has been through leading the development and maintenance of PyMC. I have also contributed to related projects such as ArviZ and participated in NumFOCUS events to foster cross-project collaborations. Importantly, I've pioneered a sustainable business model for open source software through PyMC Labs, which directly supports and improves PyMC.
Innovative Approach to Open Source Sustainability With PyMC Labs, I've implemented a model where we get paid to use and improve open source software, channeling company profits back into funding the PyMC project. This approach demonstrates a practical way to sustain and grow open source projects while providing value to clients. Additionally, we've pursued diverse funding sources, applying for grants from organizations like NASA, the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, and the NSF to further support PyMC's development and the broader open source ecosystem.
Motivation for Board Membership My drive to serve on the NumFOCUS board stems from a desire to share and expand on our successful model of sustaining open source projects. I aim to help shape NumFOCUS's strategic direction to better support the creation of sustainable business models around open source scientific software. With my experience in both academia and industry, I hope to bridge these sectors, promoting the advancement of open source scientific computing while ensuring its long-term viability.
Relevant Experience As the founder of PyMC Labs, I've gained valuable experience in financial management, strategic planning, and marketing for a business built around open source software. My involvement in PyMC has provided insights into project governance, community management, and the challenges of sustaining long-term open source projects. I understand the funding landscape for scientific software, including grants, corporate sponsorships, and innovative business models. This blend of technical expertise, community involvement, entrepreneurial experience, and focus on sustainability uniquely positions me to contribute effectively to the NumFOCUS board and help drive the organization's mission forward. |