Adam Jusino is a junior computer science major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. He is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret tech talent data for the Birmingham metro which will help local tech companies gain insight into factors affecting the availability of tech talent in the area. He is excited to have this opportunity to further develop valuable data analysis skills and to learn more about how data can be used to solve real-world problems.

Angel Offley is a sophomore majoring in psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. She is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret tech talent data for the Birmingham metro which will help local tech companies gain insight into factors affecting the availability of tech talent in the area. She is grateful to have this opportunity to learn more about the computer science field while developing some coding and data analysis skills.

Ayusha Khadka is a computer science major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She is a student fellow and working with UAB and Magic City Data Collective. She is analyzing and interpreting ROI for a company in Birmingham. This project has effectively used social media to connect the youth and get their opinion through survey. This program has brought the chance to enhance her ability to solve problems that affects people, universities, economy, and society. She is excited to use gathered experience from this program to help local community in future.

Corey Walker is a junior majoring in digital marketing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. He is working with UAB and MCDC to aggregate and analyze school quality and demographic data from Birmingham City Schools which will provide community members with better access to local school data. He is grateful to have this opportunity to improve his data literacy and learn how coding skills can be applied to real-world problems.

Darryl McIntosh is a senior majoring in computer science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. He is working with UAB and MCDC to aggregate and analyze school quality and demographic data from Birmingham City Schools which will provide community members with better access to local school data. He is appreciative of this opportunity to apply the computer science skills he has learned at UAB while also making a positive contribution to the Birmingham community.

Deblina Das is a graduate student working towards a PhD degree in physics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Deblina is working with UAB and MCDC to assist students with basic coding skills, and data analysis. She is part of an EDPA and MCDC project team that has performed data analysis and visualization to identify trends in employment and retention of college students in Alabama. She is also engaging with MCDC and a local company to analyze and interpret ROI for them. She is grateful to receive the chance to engage with students through MCDC to work towards a positive contribution to the Birmingham community.

Emmett Smith is a senior digital forensics major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. He is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret tech talent data for the Birmingham metro which will help local tech companies gain insight into factors affecting the availability of tech talent in the area. He appreciates this opportunity to work with data and further develop data analysis skills.

Faiza Mawani is a sophomore with a double major in political science and history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. She is working with UAB and MCDC to aggregate and analyze school quality and demographic data from Birmingham City Schools which will provide community members with better access to local school data. She is excited to have this opportunity to learn coding skills.

Jeremiah Kelley is an Information Systems major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. He is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret ROI for a local company in Birmingham which will lead to better understand the impact of the previous donations. This project has effectively used social media to connect the youth and get their opinion though survey. He is excited to use this opportunity to further develop valuable data analysis skills and to learn more about how data can be used to solve real-world problems.

Jeremy Meeder is a physics major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. Jeremy Meeder is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze data of recent university graduates and trying to understand what factors will be beneficial for Alabama to grow in terms of career opportunities. He is excited to use this opportunity to further develop valuable data analysis skills and to learn more about how data can be used to solve real-world problems.

Jillian Davidson is a freshman computer science major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. She is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret tech talent data for the Birmingham metro which will help local tech companies gain insight into factors affecting the availability of tech talent in the area. She is grateful to have this opportunity to learn about the steps involved in data analysis.

Michael Gathara is a computer science major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. Michael is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze data of recent university graduates and trying to understand what factors will be beneficial for Alabama to grow in terms of career opportunities. He is excited to use this opportunity to further develop valuable data analysis skills and to learn more about how effectively these analyzed data could be used to understand the opportunity Alabama can offer.

Michael Hurt is a Computer Science Major and Psychology Minor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective. Michael is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze data of recent university graduates to try and understand what factors could be beneficial for Alabama to grow in terms of career opportunities. He is excited to use this opportunity and his background in computer science to further develop valuable data analysis skills and learn more about how data is used to solve real-world problems.

Shayna Turner is a graduate student working towards a master’s degree in secondary science education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also teaches science at Clay-Chalkville High School in Jefferson County. Shayna is working with UAB and MCDC to assist students with basic coding skills and data analysis. She is grateful to have this opportunity to become more familiar with coding and data analysis applications while also making a positive contribution to the Birmingham community.

Tameka Key is a Social Psychology major and Public Health Minor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She is a student fellow at the Magic City Data Collective (MCDC). She is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze and interpret ROI for a company in Birmingham which will lead to better understand them how impactful their previous donations were. This project has effectively used social media to connect the youth and get their opinion through survey. She is excited to use this opportunity to further develop valuable data analysis skills and to learn more about how data can be used to solve real-world problems.

Tanner Tavel is a Computer Science major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a student fellow of the Magic City Data Collective. Tanner is working with UAB and MCDC to analyze data of recent university graduates and trying to understand what factors will be beneficial for Alabama to grow in terms of career opportunities. Tanner and his team’s project is called Retain Alabama. Retain Alabama is designed to study why people would like to come to Alabama or want to start a life here. Ultimate goal of these study to enhance opportunities in Alabama by identifying the sector that needs attention.

Alicja is a Lead IT Auditor at Protective Life Insurance Company, specializing in Data Analytics, Visualization, and Data Storytelling. She is also an instructor at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Collat School of Business teaching Business Visualization graduate course and Accounting Information Systems undergraduate course. In the industry, Alicja serves on the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) Birmingham Chapter Board of Directors as President. Outside of work, Alicja is currently co-authoring the first edition of a Wiley publication: Accounting Information Systems: Connecting Careers, Systems, and Analytics (forthcoming 2022).

Briana Palmer is a Data Integrity Specialist at Landing. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in Industrial Distribution with a concentration in Medical Supplies and Devices and is currently pursuing her MBA in Data Analytics from Louisiana State University. Briana is affiliated with several volunteer and service organizations throughout the Birmingham-Metro area. She currently sits on the Junior Board of GirlSpring where she serves as the Programming Chair in addition to sitting on the Lakeshore Foundation Board of Directors as a non-voting member. Briana is also a member of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham and the Birmingham Urban League.

Daisy Homolka is a native of Asheville, NC and a graduate of Barnard College with a degree in Economics and Mathematics. Previously she worked for the Alabama Capital Network investing in early stage startups as part of the Venture for America fellowship. Currently she is getting her Masters of Economics at Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon, Portugal with a particular focus on econometrics, data science, and machine learning.

In 2007, Meryem and her family moved to Birmingham from the Middle East. After a short adjustment period, Birmingham quickly became home and she found herself staying in the city for an Undergrad. Meryem graduated from Birmingham-Southern College Cum Laude in 2017 with a B.A in Theatre Educational Psychology; a major she created which focused on theatre therapy for children and adults with special needs.

Meryem joined the Birmingham Education Foundation (Ed) team in 2017 as an AmeriCorps VISTA Program Specialist, serving on the Program team. In 2018, she took on the new role of Community Engagement Manager. Meryem feels extremely grateful and humbled by the opportunity to continue to learn and grow from the inspiring students, teachers, parents, and community members in Birmingham City. As Community Engagement Manager, she works to ensure the Ed Foundation’s work is aligned with the needs and desires of families, students, and community members in Birmingham City. She is extremely excited to continue to build on and establish relationships, grow the Ed Network, strengthen our understanding, and deepen our roots. After all, “service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth” -Muhammad Ali. To learn more about Meryem’s work as Community Engagement Manager, you can view the All In Documentary at www.edbirmingham.org.

Sam Lee is the founder and Principal Analytics Consultant at ARK Specialists. He helps organizations build advanced analytics teams that are ready to innovate on projects ranging from data product development to deploying end-to-end enterprise analytics systems. Sam draws from more than 10 years of diverse experiences gained from leading data professionals in healthcare, higher education, start-up, and Fortune 500 companies, where his expertise has been in data analytics, engineering, team building, project management, and strategic planning. Previously, Sam has served in leadership positions at UAB, Becton Dickinson, and CareFusion. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from UAB and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Analytics from Georgia Tech. When he’s not obsessing over variable names, Sam can be found spending time with his wife and two kids, playing with his synthesizer collection, or breaking his car that was running just fine before.

Sophanie Occean is an Innovation Analyst at Protective Life working alongside internal stakeholders to research and test innovative ideas. When Sophanie is not at work, you can find her volunteering at CSM in Avondale or hosting events with Rotaract. Prior to joining Protective, Sophanie moved to Birmingham in August of 2019 to work at Shipt as a Partner Programs Coordinator driving search advertisement initiatives for CPG clients. Sophanie has a bachelor’s degree from Zicklin School of Business where she majored in Digital Marketing with a double minor in Entrepreneurship and Black Studies. Sophanie enjoys DIY home projects, cycling, juicing, watching K-dramas, and consuming content on financial freedom.