Podcast: Charts, Chaos, and Cake

The June 17th episode features Libby Heeren, a data scientist who also works hard to bring togetherness as Head of Community at Posit. Posit makes 'Our Studio', and used to be named that too!

The podcast started out with a bit of the Chaos part, I think--in a good way of course! The host, Alissa, spoke with Hereen about conferences, gaming, and general nerdiness. Talk of video gaming led to the admission by the women that they are data and code squirrels, or maybe weasels. They stash code and data sets in various nooks and crannies of hard drives or cloud storage files, and then sometimes forget where those nuggets reside. Heeren also said that when she sees someone's post asking for help with a thorny data issue, her nature compels her to reach out and collaboratively solve the problem [I heard for the phrase "nerd-sniped" for the first time in this podcast]. She described the role of coder or data scientist as often lonely, so that collaboration is both gratifying and needed for both parties! She makes the point that knowing others who have strengths that complement your own is important, because no one can be good at everything! Building and relying on your community expands your own expertise.

Heeren described her 3rd grade experience as "the child who made everyone else talk". Although she was the child who was more interested in helping others with work she already knew how to do, her teacher was not pleased, so recess time was scarce that year for the young girl.

Heeren's undergraduate experience came in a degree program called Management Science, which is, according to her, basically Decision Science--the art and science of solving business problems with data, math, computers, and science. A masters in data science and data analytics followed, but disappointingly, the program turned out to be somewhat of a repeat of what she had already done, and easier too! Heeren was bored, so to combat that she began her community building efforts just as COVID hit. When the program went virtual she asked the university what measures they were putting in place to support the now isolated students, and found out the answer was "nothing". So Heeren stepped in, and started a Discord group for her program as a way for the students to stay engaged.

Alissa mentioned that it can be hard to be yourself on a class Discussion board, and Heeren agreed, taking that sentiment further by stating that she went to therapy to help her recognize a need to build a life that fit her, and her neurodivergent perspective, rather than trying to fit into someone else's box. Hereen said that her graduate school internship (in her mid-30s) was a turning point for her--her position as an intern for a VP in Strategy, Industry Outreach and Thought Leadership. Heeren developed the skills that changed her life--she learned how to meet and connect with people through the mentorship of her boss. Just watching how her boss "got things done through the power of her network" helped Hereen learn what was possible through the power of a network. Heeren also, over time, came to realize that she had to focus on what made her happy, rather than following all the advice she ever heard. "Have better boundaries for yourself" is a piece of advice she does share as one that she found valuable. If you want to find Heeren, you can follow her on LinkedIn, but if you want to connect with her and the larger community, try "Posit Data Science Hangout", on Thursdays, noon Eastern time--register at pos.it/dsh.  and for a more technical community call try the Data Science Lab--register at pos.it/dslab