This season was made possible in partnership with the Society of Decision Professionals.
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In this mini episode of Ask a Decision Engineer, Michelle Florendo takes listeners behind the scenes of the 2025 Society of Decision Professionals Annual Conference in Vancouver. After years of virtual participation, Michelle finally attended in person and was amazed by the diversity of attendees who traveled from around the world to connect and learn about decision-making. From data scientists to graduate students to organizational culture experts, she interviews first-time attendees to understand what drew them to this "hidden gem" of a conference and what they hope to gain from the decision-making field.

"It's as if this is some best kept secret that the people in this space don't actually want to keep a secret." — Michelle Florendo

Many people don't realize there's an entire field dedicated to decision-making, complete with professionals, conferences, and academic research. In this episode, Michelle opens the door to this world by sharing voices from the 2025 Society of Decision Professionals Conference, revealing how diverse professionals from different industries and backgrounds are all united by their interest in making better decisions.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: A Hidden World of Decision Professionals [00:00:00]
• Discovering the Society of Decision Professionals [01:58:00]
• Global Diversity at the Conference [02:48:00]
• First-Time Attendees: Kelly Jane Fisher [02:53:00]
• From Data Analysis to Decision Science: Akeem Bacchus [05:29:00]
• Data Scientists Discovering Frameworks: Eva [06:38:00]
• The People Side of Decisions: Samantha Rush [08:36:00]
• Company Practitioners: Walter from Austria [10:01:00]
• A Welcoming Community [10:53:00]
• Looking Ahead [11:19:00]

Introduction: A Hidden World of Decision Professionals [00:00:00]

Michelle opens by describing her intense travel week attending three conferences, including the Society of Decision Professionals conference in Vancouver. When she mentioned the conference to people in New York, their reactions revealed a common theme: most people don't realize there's an entire field and professional society dedicated to decision-making.

"When people first meet me and learn about the work I do in decision making, most don't realize that there's an entire field dedicated to decision making and an entire group of professionals dedicated to this space," Michelle explains. She describes this as "some best kept secret that the people in this space don't actually want to keep a secret."

This mini-episode series aims to give listeners a sneak peek into this world by sharing perspectives from the 2025 conference, answering questions about what the Society of Decision Professionals is, who attends, and what they discuss.

Discovering the Society of Decision Professionals [01:50:00]

Michelle credits Jeff Keisler, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston who teaches decision analysis, for introducing her to the Society of Decision Professionals (SDP). After discovering her podcast, he encouraged her to connect with the organization. While she attended virtually during the pandemic, 2025 marked her first in-person conference experience.

Global Diversity at the Conference [02:40:00]

Michelle was amazed by the diversity of attendees who traveled from around the world to participate. She interviewed people from:

• Indianapolis, Colorado, Papua New Guinea, Houston
• Vienna (Austria), Netherlands, Brisbane (Australia), Vancouver
• Denver, New York, Lagos (Nigeria), Rio de Janeiro
• Norway, San Francisco Bay Area

This global representation demonstrated the universal appeal and relevance of decision-making as a field of study and practice.

First-Time Attendees: Kelly Jane Fisher [02:45:00]

Kelly Jane Fisher, a graduate student at Colorado School of Mines traveling from Evergreen, Colorado, represents newcomers to the field. Her first exposure came through a Decision Analytics class with Patrick Leach, which led her to attend local chapter meetings before making the trip to Vancouver.

"I think it's just, it gives the ability to make decisions actually using data. Not just emotion," Kelly explains. "I've found a lot of work, previous industry experience, you often saw decisions made out of just pure emotion. And I really like that this uses numbers and really investigates other ways of making decisions."

From Data Analysis to Decision Science: Akeem Bacchus [00:10:00]

Akeem Bacchus traveled from Papua New Guinea after discovering the field through his work as a data analyst. Seeking to go beyond basic data visualization, he found the textbook "Making Hard Decisions" transformative.

"That was like, whoa, this is like, oh, this is how I would like to think," Akeem describes. His journey included completing the SDRM program and various online courses, with one modeling course being "the best course I've ever done, ever." He attended the conference to understand what professionals in the field are doing and to determine his next steps.

Data Scientists Discovering Frameworks: Eva [06:29:00]

Eva, a data scientist from a global tech company in New York, discovered the conference through Julia at the Joint Statistical Meeting. As someone focused on product analytics, she hadn't formally studied decision analysis but found the theoretical foundations enlightening.

"As you gain experience within an organization, you start to learn a lot about the things that don't work or do work within making decisions. And a lot of my approach so far has been heuristics, trying stuff," Eva explains. The conference provided her with "language and a field of study to help me do my job more effectively."

The People Side of Decisions: Samantha Rush [08:27:00]

Samantha Rush, an organizational culture expert from Brisbane, Australia, represents the human side of decision-making. Nearly finished with her PhD, she attended to share research findings and strengthen her work through discussions with the diverse cohort.

Her presence demonstrates that decision-making isn't just about technical data capabilities—it's equally about understanding people and organizational dynamics.

Company Practitioners: Walter from Austria [09:53:00]

Walter from Vienna represents practitioners who have been applying decision science techniques within their companies. After years of trying to attend SDP conferences, he finally made it to Vancouver, driven by his excitement about "the science of decision making."

"There is so much to learn and there is so much out there, and I would like to learn more and improve my skills," Walter shares. He's particularly interested in learning about decision quality approaches from other companies and professionals.

A Welcoming Community [10:44:00]

Michelle highlights the conference's welcoming atmosphere, including a special session for newcomers where they were paired with veterans of the field. She appreciated the friendliness of attendees, the diversity of backgrounds, and the overall excitement to learn and share knowledge.

Looking Ahead [11:11:00]

Michelle previews the next episode, which will feature veterans of the field discussing what decision-making is all about and addressing the question of terminology—whether it's called decision engineering, decision analysis, decision science, or something else entirely.

Key Takeaways

• There's an entire professional field dedicated to decision-making, complete with conferences, research, and practitioners
• The Society of Decision Professionals attracts diverse attendees from around the world across various industries and roles
• People discover the field through different paths: academic courses, textbooks, professional development, and word-of-mouth
• The field combines technical data analysis with human factors and organizational dynamics
• Both newcomers and experienced practitioners find value in connecting with the decision-making community
• The conference serves as a welcoming entry point into this "hidden gem" of a professional field

Mentioned in the Podcast

• Society of Decision Professionals
• Society of Decision Professionals Local Chapters
• SDRM Program at University of Texas

About Michelle Florendo

Michelle Florendo is a Stanford-trained decision engineer and executive coach who is on a mission to teach people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity. Over the past decade, she has coached and taught hundreds of leaders across tech, healthcare, and financial services, in organizations ranging from pre-IPO startups to major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Salesforce. 

 

She's been an adjunct lecturer at Stanford, helps train coaches as a faculty coach for Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, and hosts the podcast, Ask A Decision Engineer. She earned her engineering degree from Stanford and her MBA from UC Berkeley.

For those interested in exploring Michelle's coaching and speaking services further, additional information can be found on her professional website at poweredbydecisions.com.