Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Professor Katherine B Ensor of American Statistical Association On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Be transparent — As the president of the ASA, I am empowered to speak on behalf of the membership. This is a responsibility that I am honored to have, but I recognize the challenge of representing the diverse views of our over 15,000 members. While some may disagree with a position, I strive to be transparent about the process.
As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Katherine Bennett Ensor.
Katherine Bennett Ensor, Ph.D., PStat®, is the Noah G. Harding Professor of Statistics in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University where she serves as director of the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems (CoFES). From 2016 through 2022, she served as the founding director and creator of the Kinder Institute Urban Data Platform, a resource for the greater Houston area. She served as chair of the Department of Statistics from 1999 through 2013.
Dr. Ensor, an expert in many areas of modern statistics, develops innovative statistical techniques to answer important questions in science, engineering, and business with a focus on the environment, energy, and finance. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been widely recognized for her leadership, scholarship, and mentoring. She is President of the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Board of Directors (2021–2022) and served as Vice President of ASA’s Board of Directors from 2016–2018. She was a member of the National Academies Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics (CATS) from 2015–2021 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NSF Institute on Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM). She is an Accredited Professional Statistician® (PStat®) and holds a BSE and MS in Mathematics from Arkansas State University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from Texas A&M University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As president of the American Statistical Association, my path has included a fascinating journey through a rich and rewarding career in statistics with a continual focus on community, outreach, and a deep commitment to statistics as a science that contributes to solutions to important challenges faced by society. I was always naturally gifted at mathematics, quantitative reasoning, and computing and instinctively found my way to a faculty position in statistics at Rice University in Houston, Texas. From the start I developed new methodologies, but I also put these methods to work building statistical systems to address issues in environmental science, risk management and finance among other areas. Today, as the Rice Noah G. Harding Professor of statistics and Director of the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems, I look back and appreciate the contributions I have made to society through my many roles.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company? How do you pick one interesting story, from a lifetime of interesting stories?
Let me pick something from my role as a consulting statistician. Throughout my career I have selectively served as an expert witness in court cases that require statistics expertise. I see this as another form of public service and promote this perspective by offering through the ASA Leadership Institute a course on the statistical expert witness.
Early in my career, while still an assistant professor, I was serving in this capacity and was going through a rather contentious and long deposition. On the other side of the case was a senior, extremely well-known and well-regarded member of the statistics profession from an elite east coast university. The lawyers retaining him had flown him in for my deposition and he was feeding them questions. I stood by my answers, and they kept asking me about the same point I made but in different ways. At one point, I heard him whisper to the attorneys, “It doesn’t matter how you ask her; she is not going to give you a different answer because she is right.” The deposition came to a quick close after that. It was quite a moment, as this was a big case and the difference in our stature in the field was obvious. Now that I understand more about the role of a statistical expert witness, I find this story even more fascinating.
And back then, yes, I was the only woman in the room. The lawyers’ faith in my ability to understand the statistical question and retain my composure through rigorous challenges spoke volumes at the time.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At the beginning of my career, I could be very defensive in the classroom or giving talks, and avoided “thinking on my feet” for fear I would think incorrectly. This happens a lot as one is starting out. I quickly learned that this was not beneficial to my audience or to me and adapted. The adaption required sufficient preparation so that I could be at ease in front of an audience. Eventually, I didn’t need so much preparation and could default back to my more natural intuitive state and speak extemporaneously. There are some really funny stories around this evolution, and for all those students and audience members who helped, thank you!
I returned to that intense preparation for my Presidential Speech at the Joint Statistical Meetings in August of 2022. Fortunately, it worked, and I managed to sell an audience of approximately 2,000 people on my vision of the foundational and practical importance of our science.
What do you think makes your organization stand out? Can you share a story?
Let me speak here to the American Statistical Association (ASA) as my “company,” as it represents the largest community of statisticians at about 15,000 members, and stands out for the important role it plays in the international field of statistics.
I’ll start by asking you and your readers to think about an invention, maybe something they rely on to do their jobs or to stay healthy. It is not an exaggeration to say that whatever is in your mind be it your computer, smartwatch, cholesterol medication, or your stock portfolio. All of these and many others depend on the practice and profession of statistics. As president of the American Statistical Association, I represent the over 15,000 members who work in business, academe, and government. This active community of volunteers supports 16 scholarly journals, 70-plus regional chapters, 40-plus sections and interest groups, and a large contingent of committees addressing the practice and profession of statistics.
The story I will share is of one of our members Nan Laird, who received the 2021 International Prize for Statistics. Laird’s work gave researchers the tools they needed, which allowed them to answer important questions in health, medicine, psychology, and more. This jump-started a field known as “random effects modeling for longitudinal data analysis,” and the methods Laird introduced in 1982 are still the most widely used techniques in both observational studies and clinical trials today.
This is just one remarkable story illustrating the many ways in which the statistics work of our members are advancing science, business, and quality of life. Witnessing and honoring these stories close up is what makes serving in ASA leadership so inspiring.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I always have an exciting project underway. Recently I have been part of the hugely successful team that brought forward the wastewater epidemiology program for Houston, TX. Our team was named a National Center of Excellence by the CDC for wastewater epidemiology, and the analytics team which I lead plays a big part in our program.
For ASA, I would also like to say that I am super excited about the ASA Leadership Institute that was formally launched in October. In November we held the inaugural ASA Influencing Discovery Exploration & Action (IDEA) Forum with a focus on the powerful role statistics plays in managing the global impact of climate change and supporting sustainable infrastructure.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
How can I be happy with the status quo? In my recent experience and those of my professional colleagues around the nation, the conversations happening in some faculty and administrative search committees take me back 30 years. Where were all the women in the pool? And why were the few women in the pool scrutinized much more closely than all others by some members of the search committee? I always thought that within my professional lifetime we would close this gap and end these additional questions by some. I was sadly reawakened to the continual challenges professional women face in STEM.
In the field of statistics women fare much better than other quantitative STEM fields, but are still mainly concentrated in areas associated with biostatistics. For example, the elected ASA Board of 12 members consists of 10 women, and the Association will have female presidents from 2020 through 2024. However, if you look at the representation of other metrics, e.g., female members of editorial boards, authors of papers, university faculty, federal grants, corporate leadership, or government leadership of statistics agencies, our profession still needs to better capitalize on this amazing talent pool.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
Most people face challenges as they begin any endeavor. Peer encouragement can distinguish between success and directing one’s energies to other paths. This is a universal human condition. There are a few individuals who will succeed regardless of the challenges before them, and of course, we would all like to think we are amongst that group. But alas we are not. So maybe it is just a numbers game.
But I think there are a few things that we can continue to do to improve the situation. Perhaps most important is to continue our focus on mentoring and providing opportunities both formal and informal for networking. Each year at the Women in Statistics and Data Science conference we have the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of women. The students and early-career participants need to be able to see and learn from the successes and challenges of more senior women. Our field has a rich history of contributions by women so we need to tell their stories.
Professional societies play a critical role in growing a diverse and inclusive professional community. This includes something as basic as the climate at professional meetings to the more subtle challenges of ensuring that policies for publications and dissemination of new science are transparent, fair, and just. I am proud that ASA works hard to meet this societal challenge and serves as a beacon for other professional societies.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
At the 2022 ASA Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference I gave the keynote and included a slide titled, “I Was Young Once… .” Although I am ecstatic about the many opportunities our young people have, I am concerned about the resurgence of overt attacks on women’s rights and the slow erosion of significant advances made over the past 50 years. Maybe I’m not dispelling a myth as much as highlighting the need to be vigilant and respect the different paths our career journeys take.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Lesson 1: Be transparent — As the president of the ASA, I am empowered to speak on behalf of the membership. This is a responsibility that I am honored to have, but I recognize the challenge of representing the diverse views of our over 15,000 members. While some may disagree with a position, I strive to be transparent about the process.
Lesson 2: Learn to tell your story — As a field, statistics is collaborative and outward-facing. We collaborate to develop new insights and methodologies, but connect outside our discipline to advance science and serve society. The ability to tell this story in a way that engages our colleagues and the public leads to impact. A big part of the success of my community analytics projects is that I focus on telling the story in an accurate but understandable manner.
Lesson 3: Grow your community — When faced with difficult decisions, a trusted community is essential. During my year as ASA president, I’ve worked to advance initiatives to move our profession forward. Without input from trusted advisors, I would not be as confident about the path we are on.
Lesson 4: Go for a swim — I try to start each day with a swim, a bike ride, or practicing yoga. Prioritizing your health is critical to success as a leader.
Lesson 5: Be comfortable with uncertainty — I probably have an advantage here because statistics is all about dealing with uncertainty, but I believe this is an important leadership lesson. You need to do your homework and seek the advice of experts, but ultimately a leader needs to make a decision almost always in the face of uncertainty.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
The ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice offers advice that I believe is relevant. The guidelines state that leaders should “engage competent personnel to conduct statistical practice and promote a productive work environment and support statistical practice that is objective and transparent.” Certainly, true for statistical practice but more broadly applicable. A leader of a large team needs to engage competent personnel and then provide an environment that is transparent. As a leader of a large team, you need to have a mechanism by which your team can communicate concerns and be able to listen carefully; then you need to allow the competent people to do their work.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ll look back to my graduate education. I was well-educated in statistics as a student at Texas A&M, but I also learned the importance of community. I knew I was entering a profession and building a career. The support from the faculty was amazing, especially from department chair Bill Smith, who went on to serve the ASA as its executive director; Joe Newton, who became my adviser; and Prof. Manny Parzen, a renowned statistician. Manny would regularly catch me in the hall to check on how I was doing and engage me in fascinating conversations about statistics, its importance, and its impact.
I was fortunate to work with Joe as my dissertation adviser, and, wow, what a fantastic decision on my part. I could not have found a better intellectual match in terms of interests and perspectives. Joe and his wife, Linda, are two of my closest friends. When I was honored with the Texas A&M College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award recently, they secretly coordinated with my mother and sister, who surprised me at the ceremony. Imagine that moment and you understand how truly blessed I am.
In addition to this great start at Texas A&M, I am thankful to my colleagues at Rice University. Renowned statisticians David W. Scott and the late James R. Thompson, took a chance on me in 1987, to help them found a statistics department known globally for its path-breaking contributions to statistical science and its applications and for educating leaders in statistics.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I believe my work in community analytics has an impact. For context, my working definition of community analytics is bringing the best of statistical science — in collaboration with municipal governments, universities, local businesses, NGOs, and community organizations — to improve lives through a better understanding of our communities and how we live, work, learn, and play. My contribution to Houston’s management of the pandemic helped save lives. I also led the development of the Urban Data Platform, a data repository and secure computing environment serving as the leading source of curated and published geo-temporal-referenced information for the greater Houston area. I think of the platform as a “one-stop shop” for curated, research-ready data to address community-based questions.
As director for the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems at Rice University, I have led the development of educational programs that prepare our students for the finance industry. It is a sector that draws heavily from the expertise of statisticians and data scientists. It is also an industry that underlies the health and well-being of the global economy. We have witnessed in our lifetime examples of the failure of this system and its catastrophic impact on the human condition. At Rice, we strive to educate our students not only on the tools driving the financial markets but also on the real impact of markets with a goal toward positive outcomes. The ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice speak to this industry as well.
I also bring substantial benefits to the world through the diverse cohort of students I help educate, from undergraduates to graduate students. I am amazed at their immense and collective contributions. To educate a doctoral student, you spend at least four years working in close collaboration. I am privileged to work with some of the best talents in the world and cherish the fact that they appreciate my knowledge and perspectives. For example, if you are looking for a fun evening with your children, check out my former student Dr. Talithia Williams’ NOVA, Season 49 episode 19, “Zero to Infinity”.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
As the president of the American Statistical Association, I share the vision which imagines a world that relies on data and analytics to drive discovery and inform decisions. I acknowledge the challenges to attaining this vision are significant, so collaboration is key. The movement that I would inspire is to grow the collaborations between business leaders, policymakers, and the statistical community. In my world, every CEO and world leader would appoint a Chief Statistical Officer to advise on all decisions.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
John Tukey, whose contributions to statistics are immense, is reported to have said, “The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard.” I will share this as my life quote because the opportunities to collaborate with amazing colleagues has and continues to truly inspire me. The stories we are able to tell enrich my life.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would like to have breakfast or lunch with President Biden to encourage him to elevate the position of Chief Statistician of the US to a Cabinet position.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
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