---
layout: event
categories:
  - events
links:
title: "Lorena Mesa: Using Data Ethically"
description: "Join us on Tuesday to hear from Lorena Mesa on the ethical questions and quandaries that she has grappled with during her career working with data in several different organizations and the principles that guide her work."
speakers:
    - Lorena Mesa, data engineer on GitHub's software intelligence systems team, Director on the Python Software Foundation, and PyLadies Chicago co-organizer
image: /images/events/341-lorena_mesa.jpg
image_credit:
date: 2019-03-19T18:00:00-05:00
event_id: 341
youtube_id: h2Z09gOOOJg
agenda: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JaEXhssjsYV-7FVEMBONIoXn8o0Gjgzw1eKlwTltQr0/edit?usp=sharing
sponsor: <a href='https://www.microsoft.com'>Microsoft</a>
asl_provided: true
tags:
 - ethics
 - coding
published: true
---

Political scientist turned coder, [Lorena Mesa](http://lorenamesa.com/about.html) is a data engineer on GitHub's software intelligence systems team, Director on the [Python Software Foundation](https://www.python.org/psf/), and [PyLadies Chicago](https://www.meetup.com/Chicago-PyLadies/) co-organizer.

Lorena's time at Obama for America and her subsequent graduate research required her to learn how to transform messy, incomplete data into intelligible analysis on topics like predicting Latinx voter behavior. It's this unique background in research and applied mathematics that drove Lorena to pursue a career in engineering and data science. One part activist, one part Star Wars fanatic, and another part Trekkie, Lorena abides by the motto to "live long and prosper".

In her talk, Lorena will be speaking on the ethical questions and quandaries that she has grappled with during her career working with data in several different organizations. She will talk about the lessons that she has learned and how she now thinks about her work and the principles that guide it.

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**ASL** This event will {% unless page.asl_provided %} not {% endunless %}have an American Sign Language interpreter.

**Food** Food and drinks will be provided. We encourage attendees to bring their own water bottles to reduce waste.
