Topic: Women in Tech

March is Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements across different careers and spheres of life.  

Now more than ever, women are forging paths in a variety of once male-dominated fields, including ad tech. These trailblazers are sparking conversations around critical issues to the empowerment of women at work, including opening doors and access for women early in their careers so they can progress to C-suite, supporting women to choose and stay with STEM careers, and helping women achieve a work-life balance. 

This month at Cadent, we’re profiling women who are leaders in their departments, asking about their career journeys, the importance of Women’s History Month, and what advice they would give to women entering the workforce.  

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For over two years, Sofia Poonawala has been a dedicated member of Cadent’s user experience team as a Senior UX Designer. After graduating from McGill University with a degree in Environmental Science & Politics, Sofia explored a career in the financial services sector. Realizing her passion for design, Sofia decided to take a General Assembly course in user experience, followed by a continuing education program at the School of Visual Arts. From there, Sofia began her career as a UX designer, ultimately making her way to Cadent! When she’s not at work, you can find Sofia exploring the city or finding new recipes to test with her Instant Pot.  

To learn more about Sofia, check out our Q&A below.     

The following interview has been lightly edited and condensed. 

Tell us about your role. 

As a designer, my job is to understand our users and figure out how to make their lives better. At Cadent, I work with the Addressable TV and DSP teams to make our products easier to use. I’m also working on our design system, which unifies all our products. 

Where can we find you when you’re not at work? 

You can find me trying new recipes in my Instant Pot (ideally, anything with sundried tomatoes or sumac), meeting up with friends for lavender lattes, propagating plants, or scoping out a used bookstore. 

What does Women’s History Month mean to you? 

I think Women’s History Month is significant because like other celebrated days and months, it is the first step. It’s great to celebrate, but it’s even better to take action around advancing equality – for not just women, but all genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. 

UN Women does a great job of listing some of the things that contribute to an equal work culture like unified parental leave policies (that offer paid leave to both parents) and work reintegration programs. Both are important ways organizations can level the playing field for women. 

When I think of Women’s History Month, I am reminded of this quote from Audre Lord, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” 

Are there any resources you have found valuable while building your career? 

Ladies Get Paid, a free Slack channel, has been enormously helpful! I’ve also enjoyed the Hue Slack channel and Tech Ladies group. 

What advice do you have for women starting out in a STEM role? 

It’s okay to not know everything and to ask questions. It’s okay to say no, that you don’t have the bandwidth for something – I still struggle with this sometimes. Community is very important, so find people who are willing to chat and mentor you. This can be through Slack groups, co-workers – ask around! I’m so grateful for all the women who went out for coffee with me and shared resources when I was just starting out.  

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page. 

March is Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements across different careers and spheres of life.  

Now more than ever, women are forging paths in a variety of once male-dominated fields, including ad tech. These trailblazers are sparking conversations around critical issues to the empowerment of women at work, including opening doors and access for women early in their careers so they can progress to C-suite, supporting women to choose and stay with STEM careers, and helping women achieve a work-life balance. 

This month at Cadent, we’re profiling women who are leaders in their departments, asking about their career journeys, the importance of Women’s History Month, and what advice they would give to women entering the workforce.  

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Tell us about your role. 

As a User Experience Designer, I’m focused on all aspects of Cadent’s products’ development, including research, usability, functionality, and visual design. This can mean either working on feature integrations for existing products or building out new products while working with fellow designers, product managers, and developers to ensure our end users are having the best experience while using Cadent’s products. 

Where can we find you when you’re not at work? 

I love taking time to do little things that bring me a lot of joy, so you would either find me painting, working on setting up my online art shop to sell my paintings and art prints, catching up on my never-ending list of books I want to read or at brunch with my friends! I also love visiting museums and art galleries.  

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?  

Women’s History Month is so important to me because it allows us all to take time to recognize, highlight and celebrate the achievements of women across time and space. I think it’s especially important to do this in the tech space where women are underrepresented and I love that Cadent is amplifying women’s voices and experiences during this month through their blog posts, speaker events, and showcasing examples of female leadership at Cadent! 

Are there any resources you have found valuable while building your career? 

I transitioned into tech from teaching after attending the User Experience bootcamp at General Assembly, so for me, they were the biggest resource as I landed my first contract role through my GA connections. The design peers I met through GA were a huge source of help for me as well since everyone looked out for each other when it came to job-hunting or fixing our portfolios. I would also highly recommend using LinkedIn to reach out to people in the field to learn more about their experiences and build connections and utilize online resources such as courses on Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, etc., to learn more about UX. This is a bit untraditional, but one thing that really helped me tackle the start of my UX career was watching various UX Designers on YouTube & applying their advice to my own experience.  

What advice do you have for women starting out in a STEM role?  
 
My biggest advice for women starting out in STEM roles would be to believe in themselves and their abilities! The fact that you’re in the room means you’re qualified to be there so there’s no need to second-guess yourself. Oftentimes I’ve seen women fall prey to imposter syndrome when they’re just starting out (and even when they’re not starting out) but it’s so crucial to have confidence in yourself, and it’s also important to find the right balance between being confident and being open to feedback. I’ve found that being receptive to feedback always leads to growth. 

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page. 

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Observed annually on February 11^th, this day was declared by the UN in 2015 in an effort to “achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further, achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.” To celebrate, Cadent reached out to women in our engineering departments, asking about their career journeys and what advice they would give to other women interested in pursuing a role in STEM-related fields.  

Lauren Koslov, a Sr. Frontend Engineer on our IT Engineering team, has followed an unconventional professional journey. Beginning her career in business development after studying economics, Lauren later decided to switch careers and pursue her passion for coding. Since joining Cadent two and a half years ago, she’s continued to carve her own path as an engineer.  

Read our Q&A with Lauren below to learn more about her experiences as a woman in engineering and where she goes to build on her technical knowledge.  

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed. 

Tell us about your role – can you describe your average workday?  

As the Sr. Frontend Engineer on the Broadcast team, my day consists of several different tasks. Every day starts out with scrum (scrum is basically a meeting where you discuss what you worked on yesterday, what you will work on today, and if you have any blockers). After that, I spend time working on stories. Stories contain a feature that you code to spec based on acceptance criteria set by Product. I then have office hours to help other frontend engineers on the Broadcast team with anything they need. The rest of the day is pretty up in the air, ranging from meetings with Product and QA to planning and grooming. I also set aside at least one hour per week for online learning to continue to improve and keep up to date with the quickly ever-changing frontend. 

Did you always have a clear vision for your career?  

I have always wanted to be a software engineer, but for several reasons, I decided to go a different route in college. Post-college, and prior to being an engineer, I worked in sales, product, and business development. While I still wish I went straight into engineering, working in other departments allowed me to better understand the vision required in product and to be able to effectively communicate with others from sales. 

Women are still greatly underrepresented in the STEM field. Has being a woman engineer posed any challenges?  

Being a woman engineer has posed challenges and I know I am not alone with stories that I could share. However, my passion for engineering has never wavered. I continuously work to improve my knowledge and skillset, and I’ve learned it is important to find peers, mentors, and a company that share that mentality. 

Are there any resources you have found valuable to building your career? 

I attended a bootcamp (shout out to Flatiron School!) which gave me the skillset and knowledge to become an engineer. That bootcamp was the most valuable resource as I received my first contract role through their network. As a bootcamp grad, it can be difficult to apply for jobs because you lack a CS background. I highly recommend using sites like Codewars to prepare for technical interviews. To improve your knowledge in general, there are a ton of great courses on Udemy. 

What advice do you have for women starting out in a STEM role? 

My biggest piece of advice is to work hard and not give up – imposter syndrome is real. Never be afraid to ask questions, but ask them after you’ve done your research. With that, you’ll either solve your problem or collect enough information to accurately articulate what you know and what you are struggling to understand. 

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page. 

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Observed annually on February 11^th, this day was declared by the UN in 2015 in an effort to “achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further, achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.” To celebrate, Cadent reached out to women in our engineering departments, asking about their career journeys and what advice they would give to other women interested in pursuing a role in STEM-related fields.  

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed. 

Tell us about your role – can you describe your average workday? 

My role is Lead Software Engineer. This means that I focus on managing several software projects, collaborating with my team and across teams to provide technical solutions. For me, an average workday involves discussions with product owners, understanding the business, and providing architectural solutions. A good amount of my time is spent on technical discussions and development, which involves coding. I work with a team that includes Product, QA, developers, and managers. Our joint goal is to plan the project, set the deliverables, and deliver quality solutions on time. As a member of a very technical field, I need to continuously learn new technologies, implement them, and guide my team in utilizing them. 

Did you always have a clear vision for your career? 

Yes and no. I was always certain that I’d pursue a career in a STEM field, but my specific focus has changed over time. At a young age, I challenged myself by taking subjects that were traditionally considered difficult for girls. I made the deliberate decision to pursue STEM education in high school, and later I chose to focus on Physics for my Master’s degree. I was inspired by my father, who is a teacher, and started teaching Master’s level courses at the university. When I came to the USA, my visa status-imposed restrictions on my ability to continue that path, so I earned my Master of Computer Science and started my new career as a Software Developer. 

Women are still greatly underrepresented in the STEM field. Has being a woman engineer posed any challenges? 

Yes, it has definitely posed challenges from time to time. There is still an underlying perception in society, even in this day and age, that women are more sensitive and emotional than men and consequently women cannot be as aggressive and analytical as men. Over the years, however, I have learned that the challenges women face are directly related to the corporate culture of the company in which they work, which starts at the top of the leadership chain and trickles down. I strongly believe that the company culture, values, and leadership matter most when creating a healthy environment for everyone. Being a part of Cadent, I feel like I have great support from both leadership and coworkers. I always feel that people listen to me as a human being and don’t judge me as a woman. 

Are there any resources you have found valuable to building your career? 

Education and constant family support are my biggest resources. My parents always emphasized education, and I have the unconditional support of my husband and kids in my continued education and career choices. Mentoring is another valuable resource for me, and the support of my peers and friends continues to inspire and motivate me. 

What advice do you have for women starting out in a STEM role? 

The first thing that I would say is to stop focusing on gender and think of yourself only as a STEM professional, surrounded by other STEM peers. Act professionally, believe in your abilities, and don’t be afraid to speak up. Accept challenges and then follow through in facing and overcoming them. I constantly remind myself that gender does not define my skills, my thought process, and my values, and I will not give up learning and contributing, and exceeding expectations. 

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page. 

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements in different fields and spheres of life. 

Ad tech is still a mostly male industry, but there are more conversations than ever around critical issues to the empowerment of women at work, including opening doors and access for women early in their careers so they can progress to C-suite; supporting women to choose and stay with STEM careers; and helping women achieve a work-life balance.

This month at Cadent, we’re profiling women who are leaders in their departments, asking about their career journeys, approaches to growth and mentorship, and their philosophies on leading others. 

Deepti Goyal has more than 15 years of experience in quality assurance and business analysis of client-server and web-based applications, with strong domain knowledge of media and advertising.

Throughout her varied career, Deepti credits her ability to adapt with curiosity and a willingness to ask questions: “Keep an open mind and be ready to learn, and when you don’t understand something, keep asking questions,” she says, adding, “Then anything is possible.”

Read a Q&A with Deepti below. 

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed.

Did you always have a clear vision for your career?

I had a vision but the path to achieving my goal was not straightforward. I originally studied to become a pharmacist and decided to get an MBA in Marketing. My professional life began when I handled product management at a pharmaceutical company. I then made the leap into Quality Assurance and worked in multiple domains like mortgage, finance and access control that involved hardcore electrical engineering. Whatever field I was working in, my personality and way of dealing with people remained constant. I was always willing to discover something new and I was eager to ask questions. I focused on doing the best quality work possible, wherever I was.

After moving to the U.S., I had a break for a few years as I didn’t have a work permit. I essentially started from scratch in the software world. During this break, I put in a lot of time volunteering at libraries, a hospice, and at my kids’ schools. All those experiences, even cold calling, helped me so much in understanding American culture. Those experiences taught me not to underestimate what you can learn from any professional experience, however brief they might be. 

Whatever field I was working in, my personality and way of dealing with people remained constant. I was always willing to discover something new and I was eager to ask questions.”

Can you describe your average workday?

As part of quality engineering, we’re not merely simulating users and testing software manually. Our jobs require scripting, data verification and real engineering, and we have a lot of cool tools at our disposal. On a day-to-day basis, we serve all the teams, products, and applications at Cadent, whether it’s Cable, Broadcast, Media Hub, Data Engineering, or Business Intelligence. Any software that goes out to clients has to go through rigorous quality assurance.

We’re always working to improve our processes and technology, and we have daily meetings to discuss our progress and strategy.

How do you motivate your team?

When I started at Cadent, I was a one-person quality-assurance department, and I’ve since built a 13-person on-site team that has among the best retention rates in the company. I’m really proud of that, and one thing that has been key is that I still consider myself a team member, not just a leader.

I believe in trust-based leadership. I put a lot of faith in my team members and their work, and I consider their successes as mine and vice-versa. I present them with as many possibilities to grow as I can and let them know the sky’s the limit. They realize if I ask them to do something, there’s a good reason. I listen to them and learn their strengths and weaknesses, and that way I can place them in roles where they can be successful. That said, if there are problems, we identify them together and work on a plan to improve.

Basically, I treat them the way I want to be treated. You can call it trust-based leadership, but it’s pretty much just being human.

Women are still greatly underrepresented in the STEM fields. Has being a woman engineer posed particular challenges?

In many of my professional roles, I have been the first woman to hold that post, so when I got to Cadent and discovered that I was surrounded by men, that was OK. I was used to it. The men I partnered with were a little anxious; they wondered how to behave around me or whether they would have to change their manner of speaking.

I considered my unofficial first assignment being to build friendly relationships with them and prove to them that I was capable. It worked out fine because we have the best, brightest, and most supportive people here at Cadent. My managers put their faith in me, taught me about the domain, and gave me flexibility and independence.

Don’t forget that aside from being a woman, I was also the first Quality Assurance person, so there were challenges in that as well. I had to do a lot of explaining about what QA means, why it’s needed, and how it can be implemented effectively.

I realize challenges of all sorts will always come my way, but I don’t let them slow me down.

Basically, I treat [my team] the way I want to be treated. You can call it trust-based leadership, but it’s pretty much just being human.“

As you built your department, what was your approach to convincing stakeholders that QA is important?

Talking doesn’t help much, right? I might preach to everyone “This is important,” but if they don’t believe it, they won’t believe it. Wherever I go, I always focus on explaining the process and value of QA to them. Your work eventually proves itself. I showed them the disadvantages or the cons of why the process being followed at that time needed improvement, and I pointed out the shortcomings. I demonstrated how solving issues a certain way is more efficient and productive than what had been done for years. There are many benefits to QA – it improves the quality of the product, increases clients’ confidence and the company’s goodwill, and it helps the team detect issues earlier on, which costs less than fixing them later.

Eventually, when people realize that you are honest and you have a shared goal in mind, they understand. It takes time. All along, I had support from my manager. He put so much trust and faith in me. He believed in my vision and gave me that flexibility and independence to execute it the way I wanted to.

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements in different fields and spheres of life. 

Ad tech is still a mostly male industry, but there are more conversations than ever around critical issues to the empowerment of women at work, including opening doors and access for women early in their careers so they can progress to C-suite; supporting women to choose and stay with STEM careers; and helping women achieve a work-life balance.

This month at Cadent, we’re profiling women who are leaders in their departments, asking about their career journeys, approaches to growth and mentorship, and their philosophies on leading others. 

Nina Keinberger has broad-based expertise in digital and television sales, marketing, and research, as well as a solid track record of establishing long-term client relationships and a proven ability to adapt quickly to new technologies, processes, and procedures. She believes you can find much to enjoy in every stage of your career and says: “Using a travel analogy, it isn’t always the destination that matters, but more importantly, the journey to get there.”

Read a Q&A with Nina below.

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed.

What qualities are vital in a great leader?

A great leader leads by example: they roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, dig right in, and accept and embody change. Just because someone has a title doesn’t mean they can’t dive in and help the team when someone is overwhelmed. 

Even though a leader by nature acts as an authority figure in order to motivate and create a professional environment, they should first and foremost be a mentor. They must also remember to be inclusive, fun, and, most of all, human. We all come to the office with different life stories and no one wants to be treated like a machine, sitting there day after day churning out work; it’s crucial that leaders tap into the person behind that output and get to know their team on a more personal level.

I also think it’s important to encourage the team to take ownership of a project and either present it themselves or, if that’s not possible, they should get the credit, publicly, for their hard efforts.

Why is that credit important?

It’s empowering to let people present their work. It offers visibility and ownership, and really makes them part of the team and not just a worker bee behind the scenes. Of course, I give people time to find their comfort level for speaking in front of a group. For young women, it’s important for their voices to be heard. 

What has it been like watching the people who report to you become more comfortable in front of a group?

It must feel like what it’s like to be a mother. As a camp counselor, from age 16 onwards, I always enjoyed teaching, whether it was with volleyball, swimming, or a camp play. I’ve always enjoyed seeing people bloom and flourish.

Researchers tend to be more quiet, behind-the-scenes people, and I’m not that person. If my personableness can be infectious in building confidence in a junior Research team member, then my job is well done. 

It’s empowering to let people present their work. It offers visibility and ownership, and really makes them part of the team and not just a worker bee behind the scenes. For young women, it’s important for their voices to be heard.”

In your role, you do a lot of public speaking; how did you get comfortable with that?

As a kid, I wanted to be an actress or rock star like Debbie Harry of Blondie or Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. I was always a performer. That definitely helped with my comfort in public speaking, but a life changer was a mandatory course the sales team took while working at Viacom called Speakeasy. Everyone was videotaped, we all spoke in front of our peers, and received constructive feedback reviewing those tapes – the pointers of which I still use to this day!

What do you think of the opportunities available to women in media today?

Advertising media has a pretty good women-to-men ratio so there is something to praise there. We have come a long way since the days of Mad Men, but a “boys club” mentality can still occur occasionally.

Any business can help things improve by ensuring that women are given as much public praise as their male counterparts for their efforts; are able to speak and be heard as much as men in meetings; and earn equal pay for performing equal duties. Give women time to speak, and back up your words with action.

On an overall observational basis, if someone gets bullied, someone else needs to speak up in order to make change. It takes a lot of voices to create change. And it’s long overdue. 

Can you talk about the role of empathy in creating change?

I had a nontraditional upbringing. Having grown up in a multicultural environment, from my neighborhood to schools and summer camp, I’ve always rooted for the underdog. I also value taking your education into your own hands – as a history buff, I looked for information that wasn’t taught in schools about marginalized groups and overlooked events in history. That propelled my empathy as a human, fueled by being a sociology major in college. 

Are there any shows, books or otherwise you’ve found inspiring recently?

In recent years I have been obsessed with the Bravo show “Below Deck,” which goes behind the scenes of superyacht and sailing charters with a focus on the crew. That vessel is a microcosm of any work environment. There are strong female leaders on the show, my favorite being Kate, the Chief Steward. Seeing her manage her team is completely engaging and intriguing. The show exposes how experience, rank, respect, work ethic, and professionalism play out on the road to success. As the saying goes, “A good sailor never learned a lesson in calm seas.”

And you also personally enjoy sailing, right?

I sail with friends. My friend is a captain, and we all pitch in, whether it’s dropping anchor, making coffee, cleaning up, cooking or scrubbing the deck. It’s “all hands on deck,” literally. The fact that I can do this with my best friends in the world is amazing. Each person will pitch in for the greater good. 

That’s how I think about teams – we’re all trying to get from point A to point B. We all have to make sure the boat has enough water and gas and that we have enough food. Let’s all jump in and make it happen. 

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements in different fields and spheres of life. 

Ad tech is still a mostly male industry, but there are more conversations than ever around critical issues to the empowerment of women at work, including opening doors and access for women early in their careers so they can progress to C-suite; supporting women to choose and stay with STEM careers; and helping women achieve a work-life balance.

This month at Cadent, we’re profiling women who are leaders in their departments, asking about their career journeys, approaches to growth and mentorship, and their philosophies on leading others. 

Akhila Gourishetty, Product Manager-DSP, Cadent, started her career in medicine and later took a leap of faith into the tech space. These days, she applies her background in medicine to solving problems on Cadent’s Product team, collaborating cross-functionally to understand user and business requirements for the DSP and how to scale the product. 

“Using empathy to understand the voice of the customer is very similar to understanding the voice of a patient,” she says, adding, “I want to be able to understand problems without applying any stereotypes and bias, no matter the seniority, age, gender or background of a person, which is similar to how healthcare works.”

Read a Q&A with Akhila below. 

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed. 

Can you talk about your career transition from medicine to being part of a Product org?

Coming from a non-traditional background for tech, I want to be able to give others the same kind of open-minded, inclusive approach I’ve benefited from. My formal education in medicine doesn’t translate one-to-one, but I’ve found those experiences inform my perspective.

That’s also why I love working as part of a Product org. Having the opportunity to learn from those around you and synthesize a solution from all of these disparate sources of data reminds me of diagnosis in some ways. The fact it exists in a more ambiguous environment in a rapidly changing industry makes it all the more fun. 

Since I joined five months ago, I’ve been very supported with a great manager and a great engineering counterpart. I feel comfortable asking questions and saying, “Hey, can you answer this question for me?” My manager is very open to suggestions and vice versa for me.

What’s your approach to leadership at Cadent?

I’m very democratic in my approach. I like to encourage and empower the people I work with as stakeholders. Every single person is capable of offering a unique and valuable perspective on what we’re building and how to build it. I like to learn from other people in the room so I can concentrate on finding the most relevant piece of the puzzle we’re solving, and create space for us to collectively understand the “why” and the “how.”

Are there any resources you have found valuable to building your career?

What I’ve found most valuable is being able to learn about other industries, and how everyone else is building their own processes. There’s so much to learn, create, and share. 

What advice do you have for women starting their careers?

Young women starting out in their careers should try to understand where they’d like to be in the future and work backwards to find out exactly what they need to do to get there. Life can be overwhelming and it’s sometimes helpful to take a step back and start setting small, achievable goals. Accept your shortcomings, learn from them, and seek out feedback. Read a lot, surround yourself with people smarter than you, and take the time to really invest in yourself. Stepping into new opportunities will be difficult to adjust to at first, however these lead to the greatest growth. It’s always OK to say “Hey, I didn’t quite understand this,” or “Let me repeat what we just discussed.”

How have you found your voice in meetings where many or all people are men?

I was hesitant to speak up when I first started but I’m grateful to the leaders at Cadent who’ve built an environment that feels safe and have encouraged me to speak up. I suppose it started off by me offering a new perspective they hadn’t thought of before, or maybe posing a challenging question. From there, I’ve been finding that introducing a different way to frame things, or asking thoughtful questions is a very meaningful way to contribute. Speaking from a position of curiosity has not only helped me grow but also understand different perspectives.  

Life can be overwhelming and it’s sometimes helpful to take a step back and start setting small, achievable goals. Accept your shortcomings, learn from them, and seek out feedback. “

Can we talk about feedback – do you enjoy getting thoughtful criticism?

I love getting feedback. It allows me to reevaluate my approach and implement new strategies to my problem solving toolkit. 

When I have to give feedback to someone else, I try to balance the positives and negatives. The positive feedback builds confidence and helps you appreciate what has been done correctly, and the negative feedback helps to align expectations and facilitate improvement. 

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page.

In celebration of Women in Science Day, Cadent is highlighting two data scientists who are helping to transform the business of TV.

Meet Katy Fallows, Sr. Data Scientist, and Derya Meral, Data Scientist.

Both women are leading innovation in Advanced TV Advertising through Machine Learning and AI. They collaborate with various lines of business and engineering to solve complex business challenges and innovate around data driven-decision making.

Katy joined Cadent in 2017 and has been a key part of Cadent’s growth. She has made significant impact to the organization. Katy leverages her background in Astronomy to bring with her experience defining and solving difficult problems. She earned her master’s degree in Astronomy at Boston University where she studied the ionosphere of Mars.

Her team members would describe her as extremely intelligent, witty, insightful, detail oriented and fun to work with!

Outside of work,  Katy enjoys hiking or exploring the city with friends, making jewelry, and drinking too much tea.

Mike Richman, Data Scientist, said, “Katy has been a fantastic mentor since I joined this team as the junior member. We can always count on her leadership – both direct and by example – to guide us towards solutions that are technically sound, well documented, and ultimately valuable for the business.”

Derya recently celebrated her one year anniversary at Cadent and has been an integral part of the core Data Science team. Being a Physicist, she brings a unique thought process and approach to solving some of the toughest problems in the industry. She received her PhD in Physics from Drexel University for her dissertation on molecular dynamics studies of disordered proteins.

Derya’s team members describe her as intelligent, hard-working, thorough, and encouraging.

Outside of work you can find her volunteering for Tech Girls, a non-profit that inspires Middle School girls to explore the possibilities of technology, or sipping on a cup of Turkish coffee. These days, however, Derya is attempting to join Katy in her tea drinking habits.

Mike Richman said that Derya is a great team player and excels at getting projects un-stuck, whether that means offering her insights to others, asking the right questions, or picking up a work-in-progress and taking it forward.

Fun fact: Katy and Derya both led one of the winning teams, Gradient Dissent, for our 2021 internal hackathon.

Learn more about life at Cadent and see available roles on our Careers page.