| Albuquerque ChapterAmerican Statistical Association
Who We Are
The Albuquerque Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ACASA) serves statisticians working in industry, academia, and government across the state of New Mexico. The goals of the chapter are to:
- Build and maintain professional networks connecting statisticians and data scientists at all career levels, from student to emeritus.
- Facilitate professional development and outreach opportunities, particularly geared toward:
- Educating the broader community about statistics and data science, and
- Stimulating interest in statistics and data science careers.
The Chapter holds yearly meetings and other occasional events to provide networking and professional development opportunities for members. Chapter officers can also connect members of the public in need of statistical services with working statisticians and data scientists. If you are interested in joining the Chapter or would like to be connected with a statistician, please contact any of the Chapter officers or visit the American Statistical Association membership web site. We are part of District 6, which encompasses 15 chapters over 6 states. See the recently launched District 6 website for relevant opportunities, news, and accolades from across the district.
Upcoming Events and Announcements
- The chapter has been awarded a traveling course by the ASA. The course is “Survival Analysis Methods Correcting for Treatment Switching Effects in RCTs; Theory and SAS/R Code”, by Dr. Jing Xu, Dr. Bingxia Wang, and Dr. Qingxia (Cindy) Chen (course details here). The course will be a full day event held in person at a local venue in spring of 2027, as part of the annual chapter meeting. Additional details are forthcoming.
- The chapter is working on planning another event in 2026. Stay posted for announcements. Events will be announced on the website and through the chapter member email list.
- A name change for the chapter will be proposed and voted on by chapter members at the 2027 annual meeting (online voting will also be made available).
- We are looking for replacements for three officer roles in the upcoming term, beginning April 2027: Chapter Representative, Secretary, and Treasurer. Please contact us if you are interested in any of these roles. The Chapter Representative role includes a shadowing opportunity at the CoC Workshop at JSM this summer, and the Treasurer and Secretary roles include a short shadowing period in February and March of 2027.
- The Chapter Representative is the official representative of the ASA ABQ chapter to the Council of Chapters (CoC) of the ASA. They serve as a crucial communication link between the Chapter, the Council, and ASA as a whole. Duties include (1) Encourage and serve as communications link between the local chapter and CoC, (2) Attend business meeting and workshop of the CoC at JSM, and (3) Participate in elections of chair-elect of CoC and vice chair of district 6.
- Descriptions for the Treasurer and Secretary roles are in progress and will be posted soon.
Annual Meeting
Our annual chapter meeting was held on Friday, April 17th, 2026 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM. It was a success and highlighted by a chapter visioning session, where attendees discussed future goals, intentions, and focus for the chapter. The event included two sessions of talks, a keynote address by Dr. Tom Stockton, a student poster competition, and election of a new chapter Vice President. The final agenda is available here. Some of the items discussed at the visioning session were:
- The need for more frequent chapter communication and communication avenues (e.g., a chapter LinkedIn page)
- Additional social events and networking opportunities
- More student engagement and involvement, and reducing financial barriers for students
- More events throughout the state (outside of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos)
The meeting also included short talks from the chapter secretary, chapter representative and treasurer regarding shadowing opportunities for their replacements. Please contact us if you are interested in serving in these roles starting in April of 2027!
Past Events
On October 16th the Chapter hosted a Fall Mentoring Panel for graduate and undergraduate students interested in a career in statistics and/or data science. Our panelists were Mark Montoya, MPH; Tom Stockton, PhD; and Carol A. Gotway Crawford, Ph.D, and the panel was moderated by Chapter President Audrey McCombs, PhD. Representing diverse career stages and career paths, the panelists discussed the current job market, what employers are looking for in job candidates, challenges and opportunities presented by developments in AI, and the type of work they do on a day-to-day basis. A thought-provoking question-and-answer session and a lively pizza social followed the moderated discussion.
On April 12 the Chapter sponsored a special award, “Excellent Use of Statistics,” at the New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair hosted by New Mexico Tech in Soccoro, NM. A four-person team of chapter officers and chapter members awarded first-, second-, and third-place prizes with monetary values of $100, $75, and $50 to high school students participating in the fair.
The Chapter hosted two social events in 2025: a hike near Santa Fe, NM in the Spring, and an evening at an Isotopes baseball game in Albuquerque in June. The events were attended by a small but enthusiastic mix of chapter officers and chapter members.
We thank everyone who supported us during 2025.
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Current Officers
President: Leslie Gains-Germain, Neptune and Company
Vice President: J. Derek Tucker, Sandia National Laboratories
Chapter Representative: Adah Zhang, Sandia National Laboratories
Treasurer: Kelli Kasper, University of New Mexico
Secretary: Justin Strait, Los Alamos National Laboratory
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