S03E04 - The language of data literacy - with Valerie Logan

S03E04 - The language of data literacy - with Valerie Logan

Author: Half Stack Data Science September 17, 2023 Duration: 50:04

Continuing our series of conversations with data educators, in this episode we spoke to Valerie Logan.

Founding The Data Lodge in 2019, Valerie is as committed to data literacy as it gets.  She believes that in today's digital society, data literacy is not just a work skill- it's a life skill.  With advisory services, train-the-trainer bootcamps, an extensive resource library and community services at The Data Lodge, Valerie is certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads across commercial, nonprofit and public sectors.

In 2022, The Data Lodge was recognized by CDO Magazine as one of the "Top 25 Data Startups to Watch in 2022".  Valerie has more than 28 years of experience, including two decades of global consulting across industries, and five years of applied experience in the telecommunications industry at both field and enterprise levels. She holds a B.S. in Math from SUNY College at Buffalo and an M.S. in Applied Math with a concentration in Operations Research from New Mexico State.

We talked to Valerie about how literacy in data is like literacy in any language, how to spread data literacy effectively in a business, what are some obstacles to doing this, how you measure the success of a data literacy program, and of course the effect of the emergence of AI on all of the above. Valerie even made a custom Scrabble board just for this episode, you can see that on our website halfstackdatascience.com

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider rating and reviewing it on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.


Hosted by David Asboth and Shaun McGirr, Half Stack Data Science pulls back the curtain on what it really means to build and deploy data science within large organizations. This isn't a theoretical discussion of algorithms, but a grounded conversation about the messy, human, and often political challenges that define the field in an enterprise setting. Each episode delves into the practical hurdles-from managing stakeholder expectations and navigating legacy systems to communicating value and dealing with imperfect data. You'll hear candid reflections on projects that succeeded and those that didn't, offering a rare, unvarnished look at the day-to-day work beyond the hype. The Half Stack Data Science podcast is for practitioners who want to move beyond textbook examples and for leaders seeking to understand how to foster effective data teams. It’s a dialogue focused on the tools, processes, and soft skills necessary to deliver impact, making it an essential listen for anyone navigating the complex intersection of data, technology, and business reality. Tune in for honest talk about building things that actually work.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 33

Half Stack Data Science
Podcast Episodes
S03E09 - Statistical rethinking - with Richard McElreath [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:22
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Duration: 46:30
A reminder that David's book, Solve Any Data Analysis Problem, is out later this year and you can already buy it and read it in its draft form as part of Manning's Early Access Program. If you want to practise your data…
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Duration: 47:40
A reminder that David's book Solve Any Data Analysis Problem is available in Manning's Early Access Program! You can read more about it here: ⁠https://www.manning.com/books/solve-any-data-analysis-problem⁠ (if it's not o…
S03E06 - Reimagining data analytics training - with James Cotton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:47
First of all, David's book Solve Any Data Analysis Problem is available in Manning's Early Access Program! You can read more about it here: https://www.manning.com/books/solve-any-data-analysis-problem (if it's not on of…
S03E05 - Code quality for data science - with Laszlo Sragner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:11
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Duration: 36:30
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S03E02 - The joy of teaching Python - with Reuven Lerner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:47
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Duration: 36:24
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Season 3 Teaser [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:20
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