We can’t help but notice that when lists like this get released, the overwhelming majority of featured folks are white. We’ve curated a list of people of color who are providing valuable insights, wisdom, and projects in the fields of data science, AI, and machine learning. In addition, we offer scholarships for technology education courses such as programming and data science to underrepresented folks in tech, including Black, indigenous, people of color, women, and veterans. Our goal is to help close the diversity gap by training based on aptitude, not access.
Data captured in March of 2020 predicts that there will be 8.05 million STEM workers in 2028. African American youth are the least likely racial group to enter technology fields (U.S. Department of Labor). We as a global community must continue to listen, learn, and educate our peers on the advantages gained from diverse perspectives and experiences. That work starts with being role models and activists to support and encourage participation for underrepresented students in STEM.
If you’re in data science, want to break into data science, or simply have an appreciation for the humans behind machine learning, we strongly encourage you to follow these leaders and join the community. This publication is not to say that there aren’t incredible white data scientists – there are many of them. But today, and in this article, we celebrate our colleagues and changemakers of color.
- Admond Lee Kin Lim
Data Scientist, Micron Technology
Linkedin | Twitter - Amon Millner
Associate Professor of Computing and Innovation at Olin College of Engineering
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - Angela Baltes
Institutional Data Scientist, The University of New Mexico
Linkedin | Website | Medium - Anil Thomas
Principal Engineer, Intel | Kaggle Grandmaster
Linkedin | Website | Github - Balaji Lakshminarayanan
Staff Research Scientist, Google AI Bran, previously DeepMind
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - Dat Tran
Head of AI at Axel Springer AI
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - David Odaibo, PhD
Data Scientist, Kaggle Grandmaster
Linkedin | Podcast - David Praise Chukwuma Kalu
Data Scientist
Linkedin | Twitter | Github - Jamelle Watson-Daniels
Director of Research at Data For Black Lives, Applied Math Ph.D. Student at Harvard University|
Linkedin | Twitter - Kareem Carr
Statistics Ph.D. Student at Harvard University
Linkedin | Twitter - Quoc V. Le
Principal Scientist, Google Brain Team
Linkedin | Twitter - Rayssa Küllian
Science Manager, Amazon
Linkedin | Twitter | Github - Rohan Rao
Data Scientist @ H2O.ai
Linkedin | Twitter - Shivam Bansal
Senior Data Scientist @ H2O.ai
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - Tejas Kulkarni
Artificial Intelligence Researcher. Former: Scientist at Google DeepMind
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - Vijay Pravin Maharajan
Data Storyteller | TEDx Speaker
Linkedin | Twitter | Website - Yeshimabeit Milner
Founder & Executive Director of Data For Black Lives
Linkedin | Twitter
Yeshimabeit’s network of 4000+ data scientists & community changemakers uses data science to fuel social & policy changes through Data for Black Lives @data4blacklives
Not seeing the name of a data science giant that should be on this list? Let us know whom we’re missing!
Resources:
- Interested in building your skills? Download a free program overview for an upcoming course here.
- Learn more about our scholarship application.
- Interested in building your team? Connect with our team here.
- The tech workforce and Data Science alike continue to adapt and change in response to the needs of companies in pursuit of growth. At Tech Talent South, we work hard to connect companies and candidates with the resources they need to grow and thrive. Our inboxes are always open, and we hope to connect with you soon!
