Why R? Webinar 015 - Sydeaka Watson - Data Science for Social Justice

This webinar promotes Why R? 2020 conference - http://2020.whyr.pl
that happens 24-27.09.2020

• speaker: Sydeaka Watson https://www.sydeaka.com/

• donate http://whyr.pl/donate/

• join Why R? Slack http://whyr.pl/slack/

• join Meetup http://tiny.cc/WarsawRUG

• format: 45 min talk + 15 min for Q&A

• comments: ask YouTube live chat

• stream: https://youtu.be/hul0cOBgqPQ

# Abstract:

Social justice movements are leveraging data science in their efforts to promote positive change in our communities. In this talk, we will explore a few examples of successful, effective, ongoing partnerships between data scientists and community stakeholders to promote social justice. The discussion will include an overview of the tools/technologies (including R!) that were useful in those initiatives. We will also learn how we could lend our technical skills the fight for social justice by either aligning with existing initiatives or kickstarting new projects.

# Bio:

Dr. Sydeaka Watson is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana and currently lives in Dallas, Texas. Sydeaka earned a Ph.D. in Statistics from Baylor University and has several years of teaching experience. As a Research Assistant Professor in The University of Chicago Biostatistics Laboratory, she consulted with over 110 biomedical research teams in The University of Chicago Medical Center, specializing in statistical analysis and experimental design for clinical research studies. In both of her Senior Data Scientist roles in the AT&T Chief Data Office and at Elicit Insights, she used predictive analytics and visual tools to implement custom solutions for customer behavior analytics and customer management. Now, as Founder and Owner of Korelasi Data Insights, LLC, Sydeaka develops custom deep learning solutions to enable extraction of insights from complex data sources, particularly in the areas of computer vision (image recognition) and text analytics.

Dr. Watson is passionate about issues related to social justice advocacy and diversity & inclusion in STEM careers. In previous years, Dr. Watson served as Chair of the American Statistical Association (ASA) Committee on Minorities in Statistics and was Co-Organizer of the Dallas Blacks in Technology Meetup. Currently, Sydeaka serves as Organizer of the Dallas Chapter of R-Ladies Global. She also volunteers for Data 4 Black Lives, Citizens Committee for New York City, the R Consortium for Diversity & Inclusion, and in the Dallas chapters of Girls Who Code and Black Girls Code.