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Boolean Girl Events

Boolean Girl Ambassador Events

Saturday, March 9th at 5 PM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

Dr. Veronica Pinnick, NASA Goddard

Dr. Veronica Pinnick, the acting Staff Engineer for the Integration & Test Branch at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Pinnick has worked at NASA for over 12 years and has been part of numerous exciting space exploration missions, from developing mass spectrometers that are used to analyze rock samples on Mars to taking part in NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission.

The PACE satellite was launched into Earth’s orbit on February 8th aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. PACE was designed to advance the assessment of ocean health by measuring the distribution of phytoplankton, tiny plants, and algae that sustain the marine food web. It will also provide scientists with key atmospheric variables associated with air quality and Earth’s climate.

Join Dr. Pinnick to get an inside look at the work she does for NASA and learn about the instruments aboard satellites, rovers, and spacecraft that allow scientists here on Earth to learn more about our universe.

Saturday, April 6th at 5 PM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

 Sian Gordon from lululemon

Siân started her career in research at Loughborough University, completing a PhD and subsequent Post Doc in Sports Technology. During this time, she developed performance monitoring technologies for the British Swim team and supported them in a data driven approach to refining technique, predominantly in starts and turns – up to and a little beyond the London 2012 Olympic Games.

In 2013, she swapped out swimmers for yoga pants, committing to trying industry for a year. 10 years later, and she is still at lululemon. The scrappy 7-person innovation team she joined now has a depth, breadth, and professionalism reflective of its’ and the industry’s maturity. During these years, she has worked on everything from sports bras and compression through to mindfulness-based technology and virtual reality. Currently, she leads the lululemon labs team as part of Product Innovation. A team that supports in the testing and validation of product performance in support of the mainline and Advanced Concepts teams.

Past Ambassador Events

Click to see Ambassadors from 2020 and 2021

Saturday, January 22nd at 5 PM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador
Monica Puerto a Data Scientist

Monica Puerto is a Data Scientist who has worked with large media companies, such as National Geographic and Discovery Communications, in addition to startups and nonprofits. She holds a Master’s in Data Science from American University. She was a volunteer director for the DC Chapter of Women Who Code. An avid speaker on Data Science in the Washington, DC area, Monica is passionate about making technology more inclusive and diverse.

Saturday, February 19th at 5 PM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador
Stephanie Sanchez A Chemical Engineer at Geosyntec Consultants

Stephanie Sanchez has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Carolina. She earned an Associates’ degree in chemical engineering at the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Columbia before coming to the United States to complete her degree at Drew University.

She currently works as a Senior Staff Professional at Geosyntec Consultants a company that strives to keep our groundwater safe from chemical contamination. As a graduate research assistant, she worked on a study funded by the National Science Foundation on the discovery and design of catalytic materials that can be used to effectively convert biomass into useful chemicals.

Stephanie is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and she also volunteers as a FemStem day speaker!

Saturday, April 23rd at 5 PM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador
Nadia Carlsten, PHD, Head of Product at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing.

Nadia Carlsten is Head of Product at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing. Nadia has spent the last decade bringing emerging technologies to market, working with product development teams in startups as well as large organizations innovating in quantum, cybersecurity, and machine learning. Using her expertise in deep tech and Open Innovation, she also advises industry and government organizations on technology investments and intellectual property commercialization. Prior to Amazon, she was Director of Commercialization at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where she led innovation initiatives and managed a technology accelerator program that successfully launched several startups and brought new cybersecurity technologies to market.
She holds a Ph.D. in engineering from UC Berkeley and degrees in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Virginia.

Friday, July 15 at 11 AM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

Dr. Camilla Souto, Peter Buck Deep Time Fellow, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Dr. Souto studies the processes that have shaped the evolution of life over millions of years. To do so, she integrates data from Zoology, Marine Biology, and Paleobiology. Her research is focused primarily on echinoderms, especially sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

Dr. Souto believes that Interpreting the complexities of life and evolution into simple yet awe-inspiring snippets of information can inspire current and future generations to become stewards of the environment. As an educator and leader, she is particularly motivated to inspire students and the public to think critically about our evolutionary history so that we can collectively improve the world.

Friday, July 22 at 11 AM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

Hope McIntyre, Lead Software Engineer, Data Science (ML/AI) at Disney Streaming

Hope McIntyre is a Lead Software Engineer, Data Science, Machine Learning(ML)/Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Disney Streaming. Hope uses her engineering and data science background to implement machine learning solutions to deliver business impact. She is a big-picture thinker who loves writing code and training models, but who also finds joy in shaping a company’s long-term data strategy and advocating for ML and AI ideas to drive the future of the business.

“I could go by many names – data scientist, applied machine learning scientist, search engineer. It doesn’t matter what you call me, I am at my best when I am transforming large amounts of data into meaningful insights and delightful product features that generate wins for companies and their users.”

Friday, July 29 at 11 AM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

Marguerite Toscano, Coastal Geologist at the Smithsonian

Research Geologist, Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution

Dr. Toscano is a coastal geologist, writer, and journal editor specializing in global climate changes and their impacts. Her research has focused on late Quaternary coastal studies, including Caribbean geology and oceanography, coral reef and mangrove environments, paleoclimatology, Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change reconstructed from Caribbean fossil reefs and wetland deposits, modern sea level instrumental monitoring and analysis, and effects of predicted climate warming and rising sea levels on coastal systems, shallow marine ecosystems and coastal environmental management.

Friday, Aug 5 at 11 AM meet Boolean Girl Ambassador

Rachelle Duvall, Research Physical Scientist,at the EPA

Dr. Duvall research at the Environmental Protection Agency focuses on measuring air pollutants in the ambient air and near sources, such as roadways and industrial facilities, using a variety of innovative equipment and approaches. Air pollutants can cause harmful impacts on human health and the environment so knowing the types of pollutants and how much of them are in the environment is important. The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. The science I conduct matters as it contributes to EPA’s important mission while also engaging the public in collecting data to better understand air quality.