2025 INFORMS Analytics+ Conference, April 6-8 in Indianapolis, IN.
1. Professional Development – Psychological Safety for Inclusive Leadership (Hosted by Women in OR/MS)
Monday 10:30-11:20am, Room 309/310. Track: INFORMS Prizes and Special Sessions
Psychological safety is the foundation of inclusive leadership, fostering an environment where individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their ideas without fear of judgment. Cultivating psychological safety within teams enhances collaboration, innovation, and equitable decision-making. This interactive session will focus on two core objectives:
- Understanding Psychological Safety: Defining psychological safety and exploring its impact on team dynamics and importance (Some theory work to ground our learning).
- Practical Strategies for Building Trust and Inclusion: Examining leadership behaviors that promote open communication, active listening, and a culture of belonging.
- Exploring Inclusion through Feedback: Understanding how structured and supportive feedback enhances leadership growth and openness to others’ ideas.
The session will engage participants through an Interactive Activity called Troika Feedback Exercise which is a structured peer coaching method that promotes active listening and inclusive problem solving. By attending this session, analytics professionals will leave with a tangible framework for fostering inclusivity within their teams, leveraging diverse perspectives, and leading with integrity and empathy.
Presenter: Chris Smithhisler, Managing Director at Tobias Leadership Center
Chris is a leadership development expert with a focus on translating leadership theory into actionable practice, and empowering professionals to lead with self-awareness and purpose. Chris is the Managing Director of the Tobias Leadership Center which is housed in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Indianapolis.
2. Cocktails & Conversations
Monday 4:30-6:00pm Room 314
Join us for this unique opportunity on Monday evening from 4:30-6pm! Grab a cocktail and learn from Dr. Robin Lougee, AVP, Data Science & Machine Learning at KnitWell Group, as she shares her experience and reflections on inclusion. Bring your questions for this intimate Q&A event. Robin will talk about:
- Paradigm shifts in starting a career in industry that she learned the hard way (which ties into her 20-year anniversary as the founding chair of the INFORMS Professional Colloquium, now the Early Career Practitioners Network)
- Career reinvention, including dealing with corporate restructuring and beyond.
Dr. Robin Lougee is the Associate Vice President for Data Science and Machine Learning at KnitWell Group, and the Vice President for Practice at INFORMS, the leading international association for analytics professionals. She is the recipient of the INFORMS George E. Kimball Medal and INFORMS Impact Prize for her pioneering work in open-source software. Robin serves as an invited member of the Business Industry Leadership Team for the NSF-funded National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium. She earned a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences from Clemson University.
3. Networking Breakfast: Effective Development & Career Advice
Tuesday 7-8am Room 314
Grab your breakfast and come join us for meaningful conversations and connections. Start the conversation by sharing the most effective/influential development activity you've completed and wrap it up with the best piece of career advice you've received. It's a chance to learn from one another, share best practices, and develop relationships.
PAST EVENTS
2024 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 14-16, 2024 in Orlando, FL.
1. Professional Development – Amplify Your Voice: Mastering Communication Habits for More Impact and Influence
Facilitated by: Marisa Ciesluk; MWC Leadership
2. Cocktails & Conversations
Join us for this unique opportunity! Cocktails & Conversations with Laura Albert, Prof. & Dept. Chair UW-Madison, Industrial and Systems Engineering. "Surviving and Thriving in Leadership Positions: One Woman's Career Journey”
2022 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference, April 3-5 in Houston, TX.
1. Professional Development – The Great Re-Definition: Defining Power Through Pay Negotiation
Monday 10:30-11:20am, Track: INFORMS Prizes and Special Sessions
While societal and organizational changes are needed for more women to advance, you can take ownership of your career and create your own path. You will learn a step-by-step framework to identify your Strengths, Passions, Accomplishments, Resources, and Knowledge, and understand how to leverage your SPARK in pay negotiations. The Great Resignation and Great Re-Evaluation makes this the perfect time to hone your negotiation skills and learn to communicate your value in a competitive job market. You’ll walk away with the tools and resources you need to ask for what you deserve and use your SPARK to achieve your career goals.
Presenter: Jessica Dowches-Wheeler, CEO & Leadership Coach at Bright Space Coaching
Jessica Dowches-Wheeler, PCC is the Founder & CEO of Bright Space Coaching, a premier coaching and training organization that helps corporate women turn their passions and expertise into thriving coaching or consulting businesses. Jessica is an ICF-credentialed leadership and team coach with 15 years of experience in leadership development, team facilitation, group coaching, and training. As a former leader in a male-dominated field, Jessica became a coach to help women+ advocate for themselves and increase their influence, income, and impact. She has held leadership roles and consulted in a variety of industries, including Federal and local government, private sector, and non-profit organizations.
2. Cocktails & Conversations
Monday 4:40-6:30pm Westchase
Join us for this unique opportunity! Grab a cocktail and learn from a senior leader. Polly Mitchell-Guthrie, VP, Industry Outreach & Thought Leadership at Kinaxis will share her experience, wisdom, and advice about connections, transformation, and getting things done. Bring your questions for this intimate Q&A event.
Polly is the VP of Industry Outreach and Thought Leadership at Kinaxis, a supply chain planning and analytics software company. Previously, she was Director of Analytical Consulting Services at the University of North Carolina Health Care System and worked in various roles at SAS, in Advanced Analytics R&D, as Director of the SAS Global Academic Program, and in Alliances. She has an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also received her BA in political science as a Morehead Scholar. She has been very active in INFORMS (the leading professional society for operations research and analytics) and co-founded the third chapter of Women in Machine Learning and Data Science (now more than 90 chapters worldwide).
3. Networking Breakfast: Effective Development & Career Advice
Tuesday 7-8am River Oaks
Grab your breakfast and come join us for meaningful conversations and connections. Start the conversation by sharing the most effective/influential development activity you've completed and wrap it up with the best piece of career advice you've received. It's a chance to learn from one another, share best practices, and develop relationships.