Diva Tech Talk interviewed the mother/daughter data-driven duo of Amy O’Connor, Big Data Evangelist at Cloudera (www.cloudera.com), and Danielle Dean, Data Scientist Lead at Microsoft (www.microsoft.com.) Amy hails from the era where punch cards reigned supreme. Danielle experienced the dichotomy of more complex and paradoxically easier data. Both share a common fascination with how data helps humans make better decisions, in business and beyond

“When I first entered technology, I was much more focused on writing software that was used to run mainframe computers,” Amy explained. When she started, it was well before computers became ubiquitous. She obtained dual undergraduate degrees in computer science and electrical engineering, and then her MBA, “so that I could really figure out how to apply technology to business opportunities.” Amy migrated from software development to IT program management to engineering leadership to business strategy roles and marketing, and finally “landed” in the field of big data. At Cloudera, she works with worldwide customers in diverse industries, advising them on big data strategies to achieve successful goals.

While inspired by her mother, as she warmly notes later in this podcast, Danielle did not initially envision emulating Amy, at all. “I didn’t purposely follow in my mother’s footsteps,” she said. “I was interested in psychology and human behavior: how people think and learn. And I really loved math, and statistics.” That drew Danielle to data science, “the next big thing as I was finishing my undergraduate career.” She created her own major field of study, while getting her degree at the University of Massachusetts, then pursued a PhD at the University of North Carolina in quantitative psychology, “where I really learned how to apply data models; how to use survival analyses to understand how social event processes unfold; looking at social networks to determine how people forge relationships.  I looked at how all these things can be combined.”  

Danielle began with an internship at Nokia (www.nokia.com) where Amy was also working, then moved to Microsoft “where I am now looking at different industries and applying data science in lots of different ways. I work with Microsoft customers using analytics products, building real things to solve real problems.” Danielle and her team operate directly inside Microsoft’s product development teams to provide customer feedback, and improve the company’s offerings. Both women, in their respective companies, work on projects that predict best processes in the future for everything from diagnosing the maintenance cycle of automobiles to better navigating maps to assisting financiers to better predict lucrative investments to helping physicians more accurately predict the cycle of optimal healthcare.

Mother and daughter discussed exciting future tech developments, including the democratization of data. Danielle is particularly mesmerized by developments in “deep learning”, a subcategory machine learning technology, based on algorithms inspired by the structure and function of the brain, called artificial neural networks. She explained how much easier it is going to be to “get started, and do really cool things with artificial intelligence.”  Amy also highlighted the predilection of “people from all walks of life to create data, capture data, analyze data, and use that data to automate decisions and create better products and services that impact all aspects of our lives.” She pointed out that many more will be able to use data “for much more productive, positive outcomes.”

Amy and Danielle have career development/leadership lessons. “Don’t get stagnant or complacent in any role,” Amy advised. She also mentioned that sometimes you must take a risk and move on, when your role or project feels stagnant.  Danielle exhorted professionals to “keep the end goal of the project in mind,” ensuring that the impact of your work meets its objectives, by fully understanding those goals at the onset. Danielle also discussed the importance of technical leaders “being able to simplify very complex topics while really looking at the big picture to make sure you are making transformational progress, rather than really getting stuck on little details.”  Amy is grateful that “leadership, these days, is much less about hierarchy and much more about influence.” Amy noted how important it is to have very good collegial relationships.

Both women have learned fundamental lessons from each other.  For Danielle, her mother has taught her the importance of collaborating with “people from different backgrounds, and different roles.”  For Amy, Danielle is her role model for organization, and the resultant calmness and peace that this creates. Some very practical tips Amy and Danielle shared for other women striving in the tech field include:

1. Lean on other people for assistance
2. Simplify your wardrobe
3. Have set routines for the everyday challenges
4. Read all tech information that comes your way

For younger women creating newer career paths, Danielle exhorted them to “always continue learning, really broadening yourself, looking across disciplines,” and “take opportunities that will purposely force you to grow”, potentially those that seem “just out of reach.”  Both agree that taking risks and “keeping your eyes open” for other opportunities, and new approaches are paramount to success.  In community life, Amy builds strong networks and Danielle mentors girls through the nationwide Girls Who Code organization. “I am always amazed by what these students are doing.  They are really an inspiration.”  They also recommend several external resources and two books:

• www.deeplearning.com
• The Economist (www.economist.com)
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg

Amy has truly inspired Danielle to achieve, and Amy said that “I am lucky to have Danielle in my life, every day.”  Please feel free to connect with either at their respective Twitter handles: @ImAmyO, and @danielleodean.

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