My Page

Welcome to Women in Data Science New Zealand 2023

Homepage

Programme

Speakers

Sponsors

WiDS Ambassadors

Registration

Shima Afzali - Head of Data & Insights, Forsyth Barr
Deborah Brunning - Manager - Te Rārangi Awatea, Data System Capability, Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ
Michelle Burke , Director Knowledge and Information Management Te Pūtea Matua RBNZ
Kirita Rose Escott, Lecturer School of Engineering and Computer Science Victoria University of Wellington
Mary Ellen Gordon, Senior Lecturer - Victoria University of Wellington
Tamsyn Hilder - Director of Products, DOT Loves Data
Kathryn Kerner, Head of Data and Analytics New Zealand Super Fund
Ivy Liu, Deputy Director of Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Associate Professor, Statistics School of Mathematics, Victoria University of Wellington
Kirsten Lovelock - Manager, Insights, Stewardship & Practice Development, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Penny Mok - Principal Data Scientist, the Social Wellbeing Agency
Rochelle Morgan , Senior Manager - Statistical Methods & Design, Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ
Rhonda Paku, Rhonda Paku, Kaihautū, Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ
Manakore Rickus-Graham, Data Scientist, Nicholson Consulting
Jan Sheppard , Chief Data and Analytics Officer ESR Science and Research
Nokuthaba Sibanda, Senior Lecturer in Statistics School of Mathematics and Statistics Associate Dean (Post Graduate Research) Faculty of Engineering Victoria University of Wellington, WiDS Ambassador
Holly Trowland - Director of Consulting, DOT Loves Data
Nikki Wilkinson - Data Scientist, Dragonfly Data Science
Olivia Wills, Senior Analyst Behavioural Science Aotearoa

Speakers in WiDS NZ 2018 to 2022 events can be seen from here!

Kirita-Rose Escott (Ngāti Kahungunu, Fasito'outa, Mulifanua) is a lecturer in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Te Herenga. Her research focuses on the use of evolutionary computation and machine learning for dynamic workflow scheduling in cloud computing with a particular focus on the use of genetic programming for scheduling heuristics. She maintains an interest in other areas of AI, such as transfer and reinforcement learning, as well as mātauranga Māori and tikanga in technology.

Kathryn Kerner joined the Guardians in the newly created role of Head of Data Analytics in March 2022. She is a seasoned data and analytics leader with extensive experience in predictive modelling, operations, and technology. Kathryn previously held leadership positions within supervisory stress testing at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She holds a Master of Science in Business Analytics from NYU Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Princeton University where she graduated with honours.

Michelle Burke Michelle Burke is the Director of Knowledge and Information Management at Reserve Bank – Te Pūtea Matua. Since joining Te Pūtea Matua in 2006, she has worked in several roles through technology and data architecture. Michelle has worked nearly 30 years in technology, mostly in data and information management. She is passionate about the appropriate collection and use of information and building welcoming and diverse teams. She holds a BSc in Computer Science from Laurentian University.

Jan Sheppard is an innovator who uses data to build new worlds, to see things not previously visible and to enable organisations to be better versions of themselves. Jan has extensive experience across a range of sectors, using data to drive transformational change. Jan takes a system perspective to ensure she is delivering the right value and invests in developing the people capability needed for today and tomorrow.

Jan’s approach and the outcomes achieved were acknowledged globally in 2020 and again in 2022, when she was named among the top 100 innovators in data and analytics in the world.

Rhonda Paku , Kaihautū |Iwi affiliations: Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāti Ruapani ki Waikaremoana, Rongowhakaata, and Moriori

As Kaihautū for Stats NZ since 2016, Rhonda shares the strategic direction of the organisation with the Executive Leadership Team, providing critical direction across the whole business to ensure our inclusion of and engagement with tangata whenua is tika and consistent with the intentions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga and kaupapa Māori. Furthermore, that the meaningful involvement of iwi and Māori across Stats NZ’s strategic priorities and work programmes, deeply informs and influences our work now and into the future as we continue to transform the government data system so that it is inclusive, accessible and relevant to our Tiriti partner.

The Kaihautū, leads the Tangata Tiriti Learning Capability business group that champions the data needs and interests of our Tiriti partner by building capability through cultural transformation. This includes Te Amokapua, Stats NZ’s premium Māori-Crown relations capability programme, which supports our workforce to be confident Tiriti partners, enabling them to engage meaningfully in the Māori-Crown relationship - ultimately to deliver far better outcomes for Māori to thrive. The Tangata Tiriti Learning Capability team also embraces the newly established Pacific Engagement team and work programme with a focus on uplifting and improving data outcomes for our Pacific communities - Tangata Moana.

Prior to Stats NZ and over a period of 10 years, Rhonda was Senior Curator of the Mātauranga Māori team and then became the Kaihautū of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa where she provided cultural leadership and direction for the Māori collections, exhibitions, research, and repatriation programme.

Olivia Wills is a Senior Analyst at Behavioural Science Aotearoa, a team working to improve outcomes in the justice sector by applying insights from behavioural science. Olivia evaluates the effectiveness of her team's interventions using administrative data, and works together with qualitative researchers and frontline staff to understand what the data represent. She is passionate about communicating data methods to a wide audience, and ensuring the team's research is returned to those who contributed to it. Previously, she has worked as a Senior Economist at the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research, and holds a PhD in Economics from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

Mary Ellen Gordon is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Information Management at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), but by the time of the conference she will be in a new role as a Group Account Director at Kantar Public .

Mary Ellen has spent her career alternating between data-related roles in academia and industry. She designed the Introduction to Data Science course offered at VUW and wrote a Business Analytics textbook that is being published by Sage in June. Mary Ellen also teaches executive education courses at VUW aimed at closing the gap between people who use data to make decisions and those charged with collecting, analysing, and reporting on that data .

Mary Ellen’s industry roles have included:

Founding and leading the team that implements Apple-branded surveys to support marketing of Apple products world-wide.
Heading research at Flurry, where she mined insights from app analytics data collected from more than a billion smartphones and tablets each month.
Dissecting data coming from a variety of third-party data sources for Apple’s iAd group.

Mary Ellen has a PhD from the University of Massachusetts and Masters and Bachelors degrees from Babson College. In addition to teaching at VUW, she has also taught at or for the University of Canterbury, Waikato University, the University of Massachusetts, Cardean University and Educasia. Textbook Blurb

Textbook Blurb WiDS Scholarship recipients will receive a copy of Business Analytics: Combining data, analysis and judgement to inform decisions by Mary Ellen Gordon. The book is intended for those starting out in business analytics or data science, and focuses on how data and analytics can be used to help inform organisational decisions and actions by complementing and informing human judgement. It covers major organisational use cases for analytics, including marketing analytics, HR / people analytics, operational analytics, and financial analytics. It grounds the discussion of those use cases in the fundamentals of data, analytics, and data visualisation, and also in an understanding of the legal, ethical and cultural responsibilities that come with working with data. ‘Analytics in Practice’ sections, including several featuring New Zealand people and organisations, describe how data has been used to inform real-world decisions and actions.

Other WiDS NZ 2023 attendees can get the book a discount on the book at ebooks.com and the SAGE website , where the discount code will be given in the WiDS NZ 2023 conference on 27 June 2023 .

Manakore Rickus-Graham grew up under the guidance of Te Aho Matua and graduated as a Raukura of Kura Kaupapa Māori. Te Reo Rangatira being the heartbeat and sustenance of her life. Manakore works as a data scientist at Nicholson Consulting in the Māori Data service area. She has worked on insight and research-based projects such as Tokona Te Raki and Tikanga in Technology. She is also a Director of IRICHOUSE Te Pātaka Limited, a company that embodies intergenerational transmission of Mātauranga. In 2022 she co-founded an award-winning venture called Te Reo Pūrākau o te Oriori (a story told by the voice of a lullaby) which is a two part model: A biodegradable sleeve to safely store the placenta, and a mobile optimised app to enhance the connection whānau have with their mokopuna. This initiative gave her the opportunity to co-present with her Māmā at the Mana Wahine Tuapapa Inquiry WAI2700 with the Waitangi Tribunal. At WIDS 2023, Manakore will be giving a talk on her experience of being wāhine Māori in the world of data science.

Ivy Liu received a PhD in Statistics from University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. In 2000, she joined the Statistics and Operations Research group as a lecturer. Now, she is Associate Professor at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, VUW. Her main research area is in Categorical Data Analysis, including ordinal response data analysis, cluster analysis, longitudinal data analysis, repeated measurements, and their applications.

Shima Afzali is a driven professional who currently works as the Head of Data and Insights at Forsyth Barr. As Practice Lead in Data Science at NZQA, she has contributed significantly to the development of a successful data science team and the implementation of data-driven strategies in the education sector. Shima's strong academic and industry background in data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, combined with her PhD in Computer Science from Victoria University of Wellington, provide her with a solid foundation to excel in her role. Leveraging her expertise, she consistently drives innovation and provides valuable insights that empower organizations to make well-informed decisions based on data.

Holly Trowland leads our consulting team and specialises in solving complex data problems for a wide range of private and public sector clients. Holly has significant experience in all aspects of data science, coding R and Python), Microsoft Power BI and is an accredited IDI researcher. Holly has a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Sydney.

Tamsyn Hilder leads our Products team who have built the Community Compass, Sky TV, Turn Up and Us platforms. With her data science and machine learning expertise, Tamsyn has been instrumental in bringing DOT’s products to market. Tamsyn is a leading data scientist, coder, R, Python and SQL, and Power BI exponent. Tamsyn has a PhD in Applied Mathematics.

Kirsten Lovelock is the manager of Insights, Stewardship and Practice Development in Evidence and Insights in the Data Digital and Insights Branch at MBIE. Kirsten manages a team which comprises data scientists, researchers and evaluators and has overview of insights, stewardship and practice development across 8 teams in Evidence and Insights. She is a researcher and evaluator with more than 25 years-experience conducting a range of social good projects in New Zealand and internationally. Kirsten is also an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Department of Public Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Otago.

Rochelle Morgan is career statistician at Stats NZ with an academic background in mathematics and statistics. She is the Senior Manager of Census Methodology in Statistical Methods delivering the 2023 combined census. Rochelle has been in leadership roles across the business spanning over 20 years. Notable achievements are her leadership of geographic transformation at Stats NZ delivering Stat NZ geospatial capability and infrastructure. Secondly, leading the post 2018 Census methodology mitigations to recover from lower-than-expected response to design and implement the combined census ‘on the fly’. On a personal note, Rochelle is the proud mother of three teenage/adult children all pursuing STEM fields of study.

Nikki Wilkinson is a data scientist at Dragonfly Data Science – she has a strong interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Once she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and statistics (including a minor in data science) from Victoria University of Wellington, she completed an Honours degree in Statistics. Alongside her work at Dragonfly Data Science, Nikki is currently working on her PhD at Victoria University. She is exploring machine learning approaches to risk modelling via a cross-sectoral social investment approach. Her research includes applications in epidemiological and intervention studies. Nikki believes that considering security and ethics when managing data is becoming more and more important.

Penny Mok is a skilled Principal Data Scientist at Social Wellbeing Agency. Throughout her career, Penny has demonstrated great proficiency in harnessing the potential of data to drive decision-making and deliver tangible results. Penny has led and contributed to a wide range of projects across government agencies, collaborating with diverse teams to extract insights from complex datasets, identify patterns, and develop innovative solutions. She has a keen eye for identifying meaningful correlations and extracting actionable intelligence from large datasets, mainly the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). Her work has encompassed areas such as predictive analytics and microsimulation, among others. Penny's educational background includes a strong foundation in Economics, earning a PhD with a focus on poverty and development economics. In addition to her professional endeavours, Penny is known for her strong commitment to knowledge sharing and mentorship. Penny is passionate about sharing her knowledge and expertise. She actively participates in data science communities, contributes to open-source projects, and mentors aspiring data scientists, nurturing the next generation of talent in the field.

Deb Brunning is the manager of Te Rārangi Awatea in the Data System Leadership group at Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ. The name ‘Te Rārangi Awatea’ reflects her teams aim to bring light to parts of the data system where transformation is needed. Te Rārangi Awatea works to deleiver on data system initatives that aim to uplift people data capability across government. Some initatives the team have been involved in supporting government agencies with open data, data ethics Ngā Tikanga Paihere, data stewardship and data capability framework. Currently focused on initatives supporting agencies to implement Algorithm charter for Aotearoa New Zealand and are the agency lead for Analytics and research in government (ARG) internship & graduate programmes. Deb is a former educator with an academic background in education, mathematics and statistics (Massey University), who joined the public service in 2007. She has had leadership roles across Stats NZ in statistical methodology, offical statistics production (National Accounts) and data system leadership.