Leadership in Our Communities: Advancing Society

Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center 

Room: CC-103 

The ASA has an impressive roster of leaders from local chapters to national roles. They have offered important contributions to their ever-evolving field of statistics and data science while navigating the path to leadership in their community. The ASA's 2026 President speaks to her Communities in Action presidential initiative with the goal to equip ASA members with the skills and knowledge to engage with their local communities and effectively communicate the value of data-driven decisions. Many of the skills developed as statisticians align with critical leadership attributes. Interdisciplinary collaborations, engaging communities and wide varieties of audiences, communicating the importance of and relaying the science behind data-driven decisions, and building trust via a foundation of expertise.

This panel will have leaders from across academia, industry, government and nonprofit speaking to the skills and experiences of statisticians and data scientists that correspond to leadership aptitudes. This includes Past ASA President Bonnie Ghosh Dastidar (RAND), Dr. Daifeng Han (Westat) from the ASA President's Task Force on Communities in Action, Liz Mannshardt, Vice President and Director of Statistics and Data Science Center (Westat), North Carolina State University, Director Emilda Rivers (NSF), National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and former Chair of the White House Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building; Matt Brems, Chair, Statistics Without Borders and Machine Learning Consultant, Break Through Tech at Cornell; and Dean Leslie McClure, College for Public Health & Social Justice, Saint Louis University; Chaired by Head and Professor Kimberly Sellers, Dept of Statistics. They will discuss the impact that statisticians and data scientists can have in leadership roles in their communities. Panelists will offer insights as to how to develop your leadership skills, broaden your leadership role, communication along the leadership path in different communities, and how to find opportunities within your own communities to lead in making an impact and advancing society.

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Council of Chapters

Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science

Committee on Career Development