Founding The Data Lodge in 2019, Valerie is as committed to data literacy as it gets. With train-the-trainer bootcamps, and a peer community, she’s certifying the world’s first Data Literacy Program Leads.

In 2023, The Data Lodge was acquired as the basis of a newly formed venture, Data Society Group (DSG), aimed at fostering data and AI literacy and cultural change at scale. Valerie is excited to also serve as the Chief Strategy Officer of DSG.

Previously, Valerie was a Gartner Research VP in the CDO team where she pioneered the Data Literacy research and was awarded Gartner’s Top Thought Leadership Award (2018). Valerie has more than 30 years of experience in consulting leadership and telecommunications.

Valerie holds a B.S. in Math (SUNY College, Buffalo) and an M.S. in Applied Math (New Mexico State). She lives between the Adirondacks in Upstate NY, and Sarasota, FL with her husband Brian, and their yellow lab, Cooper, the Lodge mascot.

Angi is Securian Financial Group’s Data Literacy Lead, positioned within the enterprise data and analytics team. Her many years in marketing, technology, training and actuarial roles give her a unique viewpoint into building and promoting a data-informed decision-making culture across the organization. She has been a Securian Financial associate for 22+ years.

Angi has proudly identified as a “math nerd” her whole life and holds a degree in Mathematics-Statistics Emphasis from University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. She has two adult kids, three cats, cheers for the Green Bay Packers (but refuses to wear a cheesehead) and loves to attend live concerts.

Leigh has dedicated ten years to the profession of learning and development, gaining extensive experience across a variety of industries including financial services and wealth management, healthcare technology, health/safety/sanitation, and insurance.

Currently, Leigh leads learning and development initiatives for the Individual Life and Annuity market, Finance Risk and Actuarial business areas, and Enterprise Data and Analytics departments at Securian Financial. Specializing in digital learning experiences, Leigh also contributes to instructor-led facilitation for onboarding, DiSC assessments, and other soft skills professional development offerings, as requested.

Leigh lives in Rosemount, MN with her husband and son where, as proud alumni of UW-Madison, they spend their time cheering on the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers… usually with some form of a charcuterie board on hand.