Join us in welcoming Mallory Willett to the Alliance team!

Health Plan Alliance

08/09/2021

Mallory Willett Data Management and Operations Specialist

On June 14, we welcomed a new member to our team, Mallory Willett! Taking on the role of data management and operations specialist, Mallory is providing analytical support to our operations and business development teams.

To help you get to know Mallory, we did a Q&A session with her. If you receive an email from Mallory or see her on an upcoming webinar, we encourage you to say hello and welcome!

Alliance: What are you most excited to delve into in your new role at the Alliance? 

Mallory: Having previously worked with clinical data, I’m excited to have the opportunity to learn more about the payer space. In addition, the role of data management specialist positions me along every step of the data pipeline, from collection to warehousing to reporting and analytics, giving me a unique opportunity to derive value from data for the Alliance and its members!

Alliance: So, you graduated as an Ancient History buff from UT (go Longhorns!) Tell us more about that interest.

Mallory: I spent three summers excavating ancient sites in the Mediterranean and fell in love with the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Studying history and the great minds of the past gives me the context to better understand the world around me, its actors, and their motivations. Plus, obviously, Gladiator is one of the best movies of all time.

 

Alliance: What pulled you into your current specialization, data science?

In my study of Ancient History, I realized that there was no reason not to leverage modern technologies to improve our study of the past. I wrote a thesis proposing a machine learning algorithm for use in archaeology. From there, I recognized the innate value of understanding the world through the lens of not only written accounts or physical materials but also through data. In a potentially convoluted way, I see data science as relating naturally to the study of history. If I can understand the past, I can better predict the future. Data science gets at precisely this, and I’m so pleased to bring that skill set to the healthcare space to help Alliance health plans improve the lives of their members.

Alliance: If someone bumped into you at an Alliance meeting, what should they ask you about?

I love talking anything related to the Longhorns or the Mavs. I also previously lived in Wisconsin before moving back to my home state of Texas, so I am very comfortable debating the merits of mozzarella sticks versus cheese curds for any of you Midwesterners out there. Also – nerd alert – I love swapping analytics tips and tricks, even outside of work. Hit me with your best Excel macros and Python goodies.