

Advancing data-driven women into the jobs of tomorrow
Mentors pave the way for women aspiring to be data-driven leaders and provide critical guidance as our Fellows navigate their own careers.

MENTORSHIP MATTERS
Mentorship is a critical component of our Data Science for All programs.
Mentors add value to the DS4A experience by providing industry perspectives on data science projects as Fellows tackle real business problems or social impact issues.
Mentors also play an important part in ensuring the data science community remains inclusive and diverse, sharing their own experience and career guidance.
GET INVOLVED IN THE DS4A COMMUNITY
BECOME A MENTOR
Click here to read more about what's involved in being a mentor for DS4A / Women
If you are interested in being a mentor at our Data Science for All programs, please complete this application form and we’ll get in touch with relevant opportunities.

2021 EMPLOYER PARTNERS








MEET OUR PAST DS4A MENTORS

Elaine Wah
HEAD OF POLICY RESEARCH, IEX
Elaine is Head of Quantitative Research at IEX, where she conducts research on market structure, trading dynamics, and customer performance. Prior to joining IEX, Elaine had roles at the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, and Microsoft Research New York City. She holds a PhD in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan, a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MS in Computer Science from UCLA.

Yaqi Yang
DATA SCIENTIST, INSTACART
Yaqi is originally from Shanghai, China. She took her undergraduate at Penn State University and her graduate school at Cornell University where she majored in Operations Research and Information Engineering. She has been a data scientist at Instacart for 2 years.

Charlene Wu
LEAD STAFF BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST AND LEADER OF THE MACHINE ASSISTED COGNITION TEAM, TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Charlene Wu is the Lead Staff Behavioral Scientist and leader of the Machine Assisted Cognition team (MAC) at the Toyota Research Institute. MAC conducts cutting-edge research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, behavioral science, and human computer interaction to develop novel technologies that improve our prediction and understanding of human behavior. Previously, Charlene founded and led behavioral science teams at Airbnb and Uber. Charlene holds a Bachelor's degree in economics and psychology from UCLA and a Master's and Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University. Charlene completed her dissertation in neuroeconomics - she examined how neural activity associated with emotion predicted financial risk-taking behavior both inside and outside of the lab. Charlene was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and her work has been featured in the Huffington Post as "7 Cool New Findings About the Brain.

Nicole Shimer
SENIOR INVESTMENT PARTNER, INSIGHT PARTNERS
Nicole is on the investment team at Insight Partners where she invests in growth stage technology companies across verticals.
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Sergio Mastrogiovanni
HEAD OF DATA AND INNOVATION, NUBIRAL
Sergio Mastrogiovanni is a senior executive, entrepreneur, AI evangelist and data storyteller with career success leveraging advance data analytics and technology integration to boost sustainable revenue, inspire high-performing teams and manage change through digital transformation and continuous improvement, and his passion in this world is about making data accessible to people. He teaches Intelligent Automation at NYU and is the Head of Data and Innovation at Nubiral. Strong expertise developing simulation, optimization, cost reduction and risk assessment models and deploying business analytics and process automation solutions. NYU Stern MBA, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, certified MIT AI practitioner, certified RPA developer, Microsoft Certified System Engineer and certified AWS Big Data professional, Innovation coach, Columbia Data Scientist and visualization Zen that won awards on innovation, leadership and process improvement. Fluent in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
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Arun Krishnaswamy
DIRECTOR OF DATA SCIENCE, WORKDAY
Seasoned Engineering Leader with expertise in building large scale AI/ML systems. Academic , Startup advisor and Investor. Currently leading ML efforts at Workday with prior experience building ML teams at VISA , Yahoo , Microsoft and many startups. Passionate about data and how to move the needle for companies using data.
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Lexy Kassan
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, CCG
I'm a data scientist and analytic strategist with nearly two decades of experience bringing insights to companies large and small. On the side, I run the Data Science Ethics Podcast, bake bread, play with my dogs, and travel whenever possible.
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Mehrnaz Abdollahian
RESEARCH SCIENTIST, LYFT
I am a data scientist with 5 years of industry experience. My PhD is in Industrial Engineering with a focus on cancer diagnosis using machine learning. I am currently working at Lyft and using data science to improve driver experiences. During my career, having great mentors has helped me grow and be successful. I would like to help empower other scientists to reach their career goals.
PAYING IT FORWARD THROUGH DATA SCIENCE
THE MENTORSHIP EFFECT
In this webinar our past mentors Charlene Wu and Chris Brown discuss their experience as DS4A Mentors.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What makes DS4A / Women unique?
To make a meaningful impact on gender diversity in technical data roles, companies must focus on supply-side measures: the raw number of qualified women applicants must be significantly increased. The percentage of graduates with data science and computer science degrees is heavily skewed toward men. However, the percentage of graduates in “nearby” fields, such as statistics, quantitative biology, and economics, is much more balanced.
The DS4A / Women program targets elite professionals from these “nearby” fields and provides applied data science training, mentor-mentee matching, professional development workshops, unparalleled networking opportunities, and access to a career fair with some of the world’s top employers.
What’s the time commitment for Mentors?
Mentors spend approximately 12 hours over the 7-week program. Mentors are welcome to join additional networking and educational events, as well as the project presentations, but it is not a requirement.
How can this impact my firm's recruiting goals?
Correlation One will select the top applicants to participate in the program as Fellows. Employer Partner firms will have multiple opportunities to interface with these candidates directly throughout the program, in addition to receiving comprehensive recruitment data for all, including data profiles.
How will this impact my firm's talent brand?
By providing Mentors, Employer Partners for the program publicly affirm their commitment to solving the problem of representation in data and analytics. Correlation One will actively promote each Employer Partner across email, social, and PR channels leading up to, during, and after the program. Employer Partners will also have the opportunity to speak throughout the program and share insights about what makes their organization a category leader and a champion for diversity and inclusion.
Can I nominate or participate as a Mentor without sponsoring?
Yes. We are accepting Mentor nominations from top-tier organizations. Fill out the application form or contact us via the link below to get in touch. Mentors can contribute as a part of an Employer Partnership or they can join DS4A independently.
Who should apply to be a mentor?
Mentorship spots are reserved for data professionals with at least 5 years of industry experience. DS4A Mentors come from diverse industries and share a common passion of contributing to the careers of younger generations.
How do I apply?
Our mentor application is a simple, three-step process. First, fill out our interest form, which should take about 3 minutes. After you complete this form, if it's a fit, a member of our team will reach out to schedule a phone screening to provide more details on the program and answer any questions. Finally, once the phone screening is completed, we will ask you to confirm your spot by providing more information on your background and interests.
When is the DS4A / Women program taking place?
The program runs for 7 weeks of class, from June to August 2022. Classes are held virtually only on Saturdays, the total time commitment for the program is approximately 15 hours per week on weeks when there is class. Please reference the program brochure for the exact schedule.