About me

I am a Lead Data Scientist at Highmark Health and an educator with a background in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, and Decision Sciences. My professional work spans the development of predictive models, machine learning systems, and generative AI applications to support healthcare operations, provider relations, and business transformation.

Previously, I was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and an Operations Researcer at the RAND Corporation. Over my academic career, I have supervised over 100 industry-sponsored capstone projects and conducted research in simulation modeling, healthcare capacity, and disaster response logistics.

Beyond my corporate and academic work, I am an active American Red Cross Disaster Services volunteer, serving in capacities such as Advance Operational Planner, Government Liaison, and Disaster Action Team Leader developing models and methods as well as being a part of disaster response operations.

Research & Professional Interests

• Generative AI & Machine Learning: Evaluating capabilities, limitations, and deployment of LLMs and generative systems in enterprise settings.
• Operations Research & Simulation: Discrete-event simulation, agent-based modeling, and system dynamics applied to healthcare delivery and logistics.
• Disaster Response & Public Health: Predictive modeling for mass care, emergency medical services, and pandemic response policies.

Professional Service

• INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences)
  • INFORMS-Pittsburgh President 2026
  • INFORMS Practice Strategy Committee 2025-2026.
  • Certified Analytics Professional Job Task Analysis Review Committee 2024
  • AI Integration Committee 2026.
• Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) Pritsker Dissertation Award Committee (best Health Systems Engineering Dissertation), 2023
• Journal reviewer
  • Reviewer for INFORMS Journal of Applied Analytics (2022) Journal of Healthcare Quality (2019), U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (2019), Applied Mathematical Modeling (2018), U.S. Department of Energy – Office of Nuclear Energy Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research FOA (2018), Annals of Operations Research (2018), The Python Papers (2015, 2018), Institute for Industrial Engineers Transactions on Health Systems Engineering (2017), European Journal of Operational Research (2017), INFORMS Journal of Computing (2011, 2017)
• Contest judging
  • Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) Triage Judge, 2026.
  • International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Judge - Mathematics, Pittsburgh, 2021 (virtual), 2020 (virtual), 2018.
  • Simio Student Simulation Competition (2019)
• Manuscript evaluation and review
  • Manning Press (2015-Present)
  • CRC Press (2015, 2019), Manning Press (2015-Present)

Education

• Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Northwestern University, 2004
  • Dissertation: The Use of Hybrid Produce-to-Order/Produce-to-Stock Systems in Multi-Echelon Supply Chains
• M.A. in Science, Technology and Public Policy, The George Washington University, 1995
• B.S. in General Engineering (Management Science) & B.A. in Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993

Professional Certifications

• Professional Scrum Master I, scrum.org, 2026 https://www.credly.com/badges/def00b95-3311-4413-8d24-c838bb3e4234/public_url
• Google Generative AI Leaders Certification, 2025. https://www.credly.com/badges/7a917150-cc67-4d31-a9d4-e50c876e3e9d