While I was wondering what to do with myself after completing my BS in Mathematics from Oregon State University, I began thinking about the types of problems, puzzles, and games that I enjoyed. Among these is the pattern recognition game called SET that I have loved (and had a natural gift for) since childhood. This led me to wonder if there was a way to make a career using those skills…I googled “Pattern Analysis” and I stumbled across the Pattern Analysis Laboratory in the Department of Mathematics at Colorado State University where I later earned my PhD under the exceptional mentorship of Dr. Michael Kirby, Dr. Christopher Peterson, and Dr. Louis Scharf. My doctoral research focused on dimensionality reduction and applications ranging from rare cancer cell detection to hyperspectral image analysis to Schizophrenia— and many additional adventures on the side including my work on learning from topological representations. During my PhD, I spent 6 months working as a visiting researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Dimitris Manolakis and I spent two years as an external graduate student with the Kuhn Laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute. Other highlights from my PhD include participation in the 2014 Heidelberg Laureate Forum, visiting the Nesin Math Village in Turkey for a workshop on shape modeling, participating in the mathematical problems in industry workshop over multiple years, a summer school on nonlinear and mixed-integer programming in Spain, and so many more memorable experiences…

After completing my PhD, I became a Jerome and Isabella Karle Distinguished Scholar Fellow at the US Naval Research Laboratory where I worked in the Optical Sciences Division. While there, I focused on the development of algorithms for image processing and new models for light propagation through turbulent atmospheres. In 2019, I joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Seattle, Washington as a Senior Data Scientist in the National Security Directorate. It was at PNNL that I first started working at the intersection of mathematics and deep learning— beginning with looking for loopholes in logic by exploring the topological structure of NLP embeddings. Just prior to the COVID shutdown in 2020, I took on my first line management role and continued to lead and support a team of 13 individuals as we navigated the challenges of hybrid work, uncertainty, and isolation along the way. Since I started at PNNL, I have been a leader on more than 20 technical projects and brought in more than $15M in programmatic funding through my business development and stakeholder engagement activities. After managing the Math, Stats, and Data Science Group with 60+ people from 2023-2025, I was promoted to Chief Data Scientist and stepped back from line management responsibilities to refocus on AI research and strategy including leading the Scientific Progress in AI Research and Knowledge strategic investment.

In 2021, along with my colleagues Dr. Henry Kvinge and Dr. Timothy Doster, I founded the Topology, Algebra, and Geometry in Data Science (TAG-DS) Scientific Research Community and a series of associated workshops at ICML, ICCV, CVPR, and ICLR. The research community has grown to include more than 1000+ researchers across the globe and an associated standalone conference series. I am a builder at heart and my work with TAG-DS, the spirit of collaboration and community I see in its participants, the innovative work being done, and the exceptional researchers who have found a home within it is the thing I am most proud of having built in the last 5 years.

Outside of work I am a traveler, climber, and avid builder of Legos. I spend time with my husband, Tyler, and our motley crew of four-legged friends. I enjoy cooking, experiencing new foods, and wine tasting (had the global economy not crashed in 2008, I would have remained at the University of British Columbia and changed majors to wine chemistry!). Some other fun (to me) facts:

• I have traveled to as many countries as I am old and try to add at least one new country each year.

• I have climbed in 8 different countries and was a competitive climber for 10+ years (I still participate in the occasional competition).

• There are some pretty cool thinkers in my family tree: Ralph Waldo Emerson is my great-great-great Uncle (descendants of his brother), Dr. Robert Emerson who discovered that plants have two photoreaction centers is my great-grandfather, John Haven Emerson who created the iron lung is my great-grand uncle, and other inspirational folks in the family tree include Maxfield Parrish and William Lloyd Garrison.

• I’ve visited New Zealand 5 times, totaling more than 8-months, and it is one of my favorite places on Earth.