Lester Mackey and Naomi Shah have recently joined the National Leadership Council (NLC) of the Society for Science, an organization that fosters science and engineering talent in young people. Established in 2018, the NLC is comprised of alumni from the Society’s three science competitions: the Science Talent Search, the International Science and Engineering Fair, and its middle school science research competitions.
Maya Ajmera, President & CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News, expressed her excitement about the addition of these two individuals to the NLC. According to Ajmera, Mackey and Shah are innovators and leaders in their respective fields who will bring valuable perspectives and expertise to the Society.
Lester Mackey has a background in computer science and has worked as a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research since 2015. He specializes in developing machine learning methods, models, and theory for large-scale learning tasks in areas such as climate forecasting, healthcare, and social good. In addition to his work at Microsoft Research, Mackey is a MacArthur Fellow and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He also earned his degrees from UC Berkeley and Princeton University.
Naomi Shah has experience working in finance at Union Square Ventures and Goldman Sachs prior to founding Meet Cute in 2013. She produces original scripted stories through her company that push the boundaries of traditional genres through unique perspectives. Shah received her degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in human biology from Stanford University before pursuing a career in entertainment.
