Serena Patel (Engineering ’15, M.S. in Business Analytics ’19)

Data Strategist, Slalom Consulting

Serena Patel is a Data Strategist for Slalom Consulting, a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation globally. Since joining Slalom, Patel has assessed the data maturity and implemented strategic data optimization and governance initiatives for Fortune 500 companies. She partners with C-suite executives across the financial services, nonprofit, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, and hospitality industries to modernize and transform their organization's data culture and strategy through actionable recommendations. Within Slalom's Washington DC office, Patel is also one of the leaders building the data strategy capability.

Prior to Slalom, Patel was an Analytics Manager at a large consulting firm, where she transformed business analytics functions at several federal agencies. She spearheaded efforts to measure the product success for an online immigration tool, which included identifying new key performance indicators, coordinating data ingestion efforts for several disparate data sources, and creating and presenting monthly dashboards to the agency's Deputy Chief Data Officer.

Patel's passions center around encouraging and supporting her community to become data-driven. She is a Co-Founder and serves as a board member for Hoos For Data, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping nonprofits analyze their data and derive actionable insight. Additionally, she is a digital creator and passionate career coach for data aspirants transitioning into a career in data. Patel holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and an M.S. in Business Analytics, a joint program offered from University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. She is originally from the Washington, DC, area and currently resides in Nashville, TN, with her husband.