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.

Laura's career at Dow has spanned over 17 years across different roles and functions. She currently works as a Program & Change Leader.

In this role, Laura connects digital strategy with employee engagement across diverse platforms. She develops and implements learning solutions that empower Dow's workforce to leverage data literacy for innovation and growth.

Laura attended Northwood University where she acquired her B.S. in Business Management. Her home state is Michigan, but she currently lives in Texas with Jacob and Baby (the dog) where she enjoys reading, quality time with family and friends, yoga, and  glamping. 

Laura is a graduate of The Data Lodge's Bootcamp program, and is certified as one of the world's first Data Literacy Program Leads.

Aaron has been with Cox Automotive over 8 years, helping lead the Master Data Management program and, more recently, to support Data Enablement and Data Literacy for the Enterprise.

Cox Automotive is the world's largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, auto manufacturers, dealers, lenders, and fleets.

Bringing together the data of over 30 brands into seamless solutions has accelerated the need for increased data literacy, cohesive data platforms, and executive support to advance Cox Automotive in transforming the way the world buys, sells, owns, and uses vehicles.

Prior to his current role, Aaron was a consultant that helped companies in the Restaurant, Health Insurance, and HR/Payroll industries implement and launch data and software solutions.

Aaron came to the data world by accident through his early role as an SME expert in HR/Payroll systems. He was drafted into the technology side to make and implement better products. This unique background leads Aaron to bring a different perspective to the data world by challenging data teams to be more customer and user centric.

Aaron grew up in Oklahoma, but has spent his last 13 years calling Atlanta, GA his home.

Aaron is a graduate of The Data Lodge's Bootcamp program, and is certified as one of the world's first Data Literacy Program Leads.