A Data Scientist + A Software Engineer on a quest to make tech accessible.

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Jon Purnell & Melissa Amaya

A Data Scientist & A Software Engineer walk into a bar...


I go by Jon or JP, depending on how many other Jon/Johns are in the room. 

After being a professional student for many years and earning a PhD, I ventured into industry. I've worked on Search Ad stacks, digital advertising analytics, and recently applied NLP to help trust and safety teams tackle online toxicity. I enjoy the startup life, building innovative solutions and a team of rockstar data scientists. I also love chatting and learning from others, which lends well to the podcaster's life. :) 

I'm Mel, or Melissa, or Mom, depending on who is talking to me.

My 30 second bio: student-athlete heads off to UPenn to play soccer and study business. Enters the workforce and is quickly disillusioned with the reality of corporate life.  Pulls an escape hatch on the rat race in 2006 when my first child is born. Spends the next decade being mom to that first child and the three more that follow.  Eventually decides to re-enter the workforce through tech.  Attends coding bootcamp. Is hire #3 at an EdTech startup. Enrolls in Penn's MCIT Online program to study computer science and pursues a career as a Software Engineer.  Pitches the idea of a tech podcast to childhood friend Jon. And here we are.

We  new friends!