Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Gilbert.
Hi Elizabeth, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Absolutely. I discovered Data Science after taking the AP Statistics and AP Computer Science classes in my sophomore year of high school, which led me to study Data Analytics at The Ohio State University. In my freshman year of college, I discovered quantitative user experience research when reading a blog post from Google. It immediately connected to the way I had seen that data can uncover patterns and solve problems at scale, and product interaction data became the most interesting application of data science to me. During college, I spent my summers doing biostatistics research and two data science internships. Right out of college, I worked as a Data Scientist at Spatial.ai, a 5 person pre-seed startup working on geosocial data as a product. I then aimed to incorporate my interest in product data with my experience in data science, as a Product Data Analyst at Olive, a 1,500 person series H startup in healthcare administration automation. Now at Duo, part of Cisco, as a Product Data Scientist, I get to work with data collection and processes that are more mature than I ever have before and consider how users interact with our platform. Across all of my experience, I’ve leaned into my curiosity; I enjoy learning new applications of data science.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For sure, but the obstacles have been things I’ve learned a lot from. Despite knowing early in undergrad where my strongest interests in data science lay, I didn’t end up in my dream job right out of college. Continuing to be curious and learning from others at conferences, networking events, and at work built my experience and got me to the work I wanted to do.
Startups can also come with some tumult. Figuring out how to react to layoffs, support your teammates, and move forward is challenging on both the side of surviving and being affected. Having both experiences in my first years of working gave me a unique perspective to the way we support and are supported by our coworkers, and how company culture can persist beyond a Reduction in Force.
Appreciate you sharing that. What would you say sets you apart from others?
I’m most proud of how I take the opportunities I embrace and bring them to others. Professionally, this looks like helping others have the best experience possible with technology through Product Data Science. Day to day at work, this looks like reflecting on what solutions and processes have worked for me that could work for my teammates. Outside of work, this looks like building the Cincinnati Data & Analytics Meetup to bring back analytics networking to Cincinnati after the pandemic.
I approach my work with curiosity, which I think is important in analytics. In all of my professional experience, I’ve worked in six different application areas of data science. It involves picking up a new vocabulary and being curious about the way things work. I’m also detail-oriented,and really love writing and reflecting on usable documentation.
What else should we know about what you do?
I’m involved in leading my professional community organized for years as a student, including the Big Data & Analytics Association at Ohio State, and the DataConnect Conference in Columbus, and in 2022 I founded the Cincinnati Data & Analytics Meetup, which I currently lead. The Cincinnati Data & Analytics meetup is a series of informal monthly meetups at Union Hall in Over-The-Rhine, Cincinnati, featuring subject matter experts for an hour talk followed by an hour of networking, and all data and analytics practitioners and enthusiasts are welcome.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I enjoy the rich restaurant scene, and both like and dislike the active and public transportation infrastructure. We’re moving in the right direction, but safe transportation as a pedestrian or cyclist is critical, and accessible and efficient public transportation is, too. Getting around shouldn’t have to rely on cars- it’s not sustainable for our city infrastructure or world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eabert.github.io/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethagilbert
Image Credits
Jo McCulty
