Spark Award
Sian Lewis
Booz Allen Hamilton
For connecting data science to social impact initiatives that inspire women to stay in the field; and for creating recruitment channels to increase the hiring rate for women engineers.
Sian Lewis is a machine learning engineer and data scientist who specializes in deep learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, and social good initiatives. She is the lead data scientist and analytics manager for Washington, D.C.-based Booz Allen Hamilton, a worldwide consulting firm that supports governments with experts in analytics, digital, engineering, and cybersecurity.
The Nottingham, England, native joined the company in 2018 after a diverse career in data and analytics that included work in public service, nonprofit, and private industry. Lewis was the data manager for 34 political campaigns across the U.S., using data collection strategies to target and recruit groups for campaign support.
She also works as a data science instructor at General Assembly (GA), an experiential educational company that specializes in coding, business, data, and design skills and teaches people who want to learn new, in-demand skills or change careers. Her experience as an instructor and working directly with students led her to incorporate mentoring in her work. She is particularly passionate about encouraging women to remain in their technology careers and use their new skills for good in other industries. Her GA students have earned positions with Twitter, Google, Facebook, the federal government, and in nonprofit and political sectors.
At Booz Allen, Lewis has made it her mission to mentor other women, due in part to being the only woman in the room, the only Black person, and the only out queer person. Through mentoring, she wants to build a future where people who have felt as if they are the “only” won’t have to be.
As vice president of partnerships for Women in Data Science (WiDS), Lewis mentors and builds confidence in women by strengthening their data science skills through unique learning opportunities. She believes that connecting data capabilities with social impact initiatives will inspire more women to enter and stay in the data science field and achieve parity across all levels at Booz Allen.
Lewis has created recruitment channels to improve the hiring rate for women data scientists, analysts, and engineers. To date, she has referred 28 technologists to Booz Allen, 21 of whom are women of color. She also has helped women in data science and analytics improve their ability to identify and achieve career goals, while increasing their confidence.
In addition to WiDS, Lewis mentors women in other Booz Allen resource groups. She is the co-founder of Booz Allen’s Black Analytics Group, and is the director of finance for GLOBE+, the LGBTQ Business Resource Group. She has received numerous accolades, including the 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Modern Day Technology Leader award, the 2020 Women of Color in Stem All-Star award, the 2019 DC FemTech award, and the 2017 PGSIF Forty Under 40 honor. She is the president of the board of Makers Lab DC, an LGBTQ arts and culture organization, and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Lewis holds a B.S. in interdisciplinary studies and neuroscience and an M.S. in data science and analytics. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and hiking.