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Stephen Widener
Detail Scientist, Sterling Consulting Company Location: Gaithersburg, MD United States Joined: May 25th, 2024 |
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A strategic and meticulous professional with a background in research and data analysis. Demonstrated dedication. Proven ability to champion innovation in mathematical models, statistical studies and detail science creations. Capable of identifying opportunities, advocating for innovative strategies, and fostering teamwork to surpass established expectations.
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I currently work with Sterling Consulting Company
as Detail Scientist I have 25 years of experience working in the Finance/Economics industry. |
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Detail Scientist and Senior Economist |
Sterling Consulting Company and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
From July 2001 to Current • 25 year(s) SUMMARY STATEMENT A strategic and meticulous professional with a background in research and data analysis. Demonstrated dedication. Proven ability to champion innovation in mathematical models, statistical studies and detail science creations. Capable of identifying opportunities, advocating for innovative strategies, and fostering teamwork to surpass established expectations. EDUCATION The University of San Francisco, B.S. Applied Economics. College Preparatory School, Diploma. Commendation in Psychology. WORK EXPERIENCE Detail Scientist and Senior Economist July 2001 – Present Sterling Consulting Company, D.B.A. Gaithersburg, MD Consumer Price Index Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. Proven ability to function in varied technical roles providing the expertise necessary to accomplish company goals. Skill and accomplishments specific to this job description include, but are not limited to: Proven proficiency in Python, R, SQL. Examples include: Created the SQL program that produced the dataset used to publish the Consumer Price Index, after the Index became threatened by missing data created by damage in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina: “Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in a destructive zig zag pattern. It rendered cell phone service inoperable and destroyed both peoples’ houses and business establishments. But some WIFI signals did work which allowed for email communications. This caused an avalanche of emails coming into the National Office. Managers were trying to inform the CPI National Office of data collectors that could not collect, and establishments that had been destroyed. … Without proper information ahead of time on missing prices, the CPI program would have crashed at run time. I went to work immediately by getting feedback from managers in the field in the form of disparate sentences and dis-jointed information in dozens of separate emails. I read through the emails and synthesized the information. Then I wrote one of longest SQL program “where clauses” I had ever written. I had never used so many “%” signs in my life! The result was a dataset containing a hodge-podge of information about what prices would most likely be missing at run time. The Program Office used this dataset to impute the missing data and the Index ran successfully as a result.” [Stephen Widener.] Envisioned, created, and implemented the first Data Science programs ever used in the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. These programs were Structured Query Language (SQL) programs used to monitor live-moving data being collected by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in real-time. Received the highest bonus ever given in the department, and a brand-new element called “Improvements” was added to the performance review process for all employees. Of my accomplishments, the words of management were: "Your performance bonus will be reflected in your pay deposit next week. The full bonus amount is $4,000 before deductions. This is the highest bonus that I've ever had the pleasure to give. … I want to thank you for your continued outstanding efforts on behalf of the CPI program. Your combination of enthusiasm, initiative, and intelligence would make you a star in any organization. I am very glad that you are in my organization." [Jane Martinez, Branch Manager, Consumer Price Index.] “Mr. Widener has worked independently of his supervisor to introduce database query tools to our daily monitoring activities. The ability to use these query tools for daily monitoring and problem investigation has taken the primary mission of our office to a new level. … Additionally, because we are no longer dependent on other offices for providing this information, the response time for providing information to our customers has been drastically reduced. As the project has no precedent, Stephen continually makes suggestions for improvement to management. … Stephen takes great pride in the challenges and payoffs that the development of database queries can bring. … Every month, Stephen continues to push the limits of his knowledge and creates solution that I never imagined.” [Excerpt from Supervisor, Performance Appraisal.] Proven proficiency in Data Warehousing. Examples include: Showed individual drive and innovation after being selected by the Branch Chief to be the lead developer on the COGNOS ReportNet Business Intelligence Data Warehouse project: “This was a new project being undertaken by the department, back in the early 2000s, before the Data Science industry came into existence. COGNOS ReportNet was one of the first Business Intelligence systems ever to be developed. It was installed and configured on a server and gave users’ access to Online Analytical Processing tools via a Web Browser. The browser was located on the client-side computer or other device. I personally oversaw the entire process, from taking the product out of the box, educating IT professionals about its design, installing and configuring it on the server, and creating the first reports.” [SW] Showed individual drive and innovation by creating and designing the Consumer Price Index “Outlets Outside the PSU Boundary” Automated Decisioning System: Created a schema design for a Microsoft SQL Server database; created the database; built the schema; configured the primary keys. Used Microsoft SQL Server Data Transformation Services and ODBC to attach the SQL database to the CPI’s Oracle production database by creating pre-configured and re-usable SSIS Packages that obtained data to store in a custom-made data warehouse. Aggregated, merged, modified, and distributed the data into the SQL database data warehouse, where a metadata layer was created. Added additional reference information was in the data warehouse that did not exist in the production database. New reference data was conceptualized, obtained, cleaned, and inserted without assistance from others. Finally, the metadata layer was used by a proprietary SQL program that was created to render automated decisions about the data: Decisions were made by the program based on CPI data collection rules, CPI eligibility rules, store location within the CPI’s statistical boundary, store collection type, and store item type; and The result was the creation of the first-ever CPI record-by-record automatic decision-making process whereby decisions were that determined whether or not a price needed to be collected or was within boundary. Proven proficiency in Data Visualization using tools like Power BI. Examples include: Showed individual drive and innovation by creating and designing the Consumer Price Index “Six Month Cumulative Code 19 Report”: Created a complex SQL program that was embedded inside of a Microsoft Access database. This database was used to create an ODBC connection to the CPI production database where data was extracted and placed in Access tables. Then, those tables were used to create dashboards for each of the six CPI data collection regions. The dashboards were extracted from the database and placed on online. They showed data collection statuses for unproductive retail store locations over a 12-month collection period. These dashboards enabled managers in the regions to ascertain the effort at collecting unproductive retail stores. Strong understanding of criminal justice processes. Examples include: Personal experiences lived through while working for the Federal Government tested training in National Security and assisted with experience gained in how to deal and report unsafe or dangerous situations or incidents related to criminal justice. Strong understanding of government data standards including experience handling sensitive or classified data in compliance with CJIS and FOIA guidelines. Examples include: Maintained Public Trust Security Clearance and spent several decades working in a secure Federal Building following secure protocols that involved access to Classified Information and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Spent several decades being trained on counter-terrorism procedures and insider-threat safety precautions when safe-guarding government secrets. Appointed as the only non-manager member of the Oversight Group for the Consumer Price Index Sample Maintenance System Release 2.0 Software Development Project. The Oversight Group was tasked with working with department leaders participating in the software development project to ensure that the project stayed on budget. Chosen by the Consumer Price index Office of Field Operations to be the Departmental Expert on the Sample Maintenance Release 2.0 software development project. Successful in collaborating with economists, statisticians, computer scientists, and procedural experts on the team to share insight and provide matrix-style collaboration to make the project a success. Experience with machine learning frameworks and statistical modeling. Examples include: Created a new statistical model as a member of the New Goods Initiative team that was tasked with addressing concerns of “New Goods Bias and Substitution Bias.” These concerns had been raised in a book titled At What Price written by the National Statistics Committee in cooperation with the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education Commission: Created a new statistical model called Ranked Inclusion. It was used to pick items to be included in a given Consumer Price Index Item Rotation sample as a result of changes in the marketplace. The process called for each item to be ranked according to economic factors in the marketplace and Relative Importance in the Index. A simple equation used Relative Importance to weight the rank of each item, thereby creating a unique hierarchy among the items, allowing the CPI to identify mathematically which items were the most important for New Goods introduction. Created a new statistical model as a member of the Sample Refinement Software Development Team. The new model allowed the Consumer Price Index to maintain an important naming convention in their sample creation process: Created a new statistical model that became the first-ever “Two Sequence Object” sample creation modeling technique for the Consumer Price Index. The technique was used for the Sample Maintenance System Release 2.0 project, after collaborating with software development leadership. By using two objects to create sample identifiers, instead of one, the CPI was able to preserve its long-standing CPI numbering convention. Excellent communication and presentation skills for diverse audiences. Examples include: Showed individual drive and innovation by creating data visualizations and presentations for the Consumer Price Index’s first-ever data science programs: Spent over a year traveling across the United States visiting all six collection regions for the Consumer Price Index to present data visualizations during presentations of the first-ever Data Science programs used by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. These data visualizations were envisioned and created from scratch and involved the use of various software as well as local replicas of the online reports that were stored on a CD with the visualization files. This made the entire visualization presentation possible without an internet connection. Ability to work collaboratively across departments and agencies. Examples include: Maintained a proven ability to collaborate across departments and agencies within a larger Federal Agency framework. Success in this area is evidenced by the following: Appointed as the Lead Departmental Expert on the Consumer Price Index Sample Maintenance Release 2.0 Software Development Project. Also appointed as the Lead Departmental Expert and only non-manager to ever be appointed to the all-management Consumer Price Index Sample Maintenance System Team Oversight Group that was tasked with overseeing improvements in the way Consumer Price Index data is sampled and prepared for use in the field. Chosen to be the Chairperson to lead the Consumer Price Index Office of Field Operations first-ever SQL Development Team, where first-time-ever training was envisioned, created, and taught to other members of the department. Familiarity with GIS and spatial analysis. Examples include: Used ArcGIS in conjunction with SQL and MapPoint for the Consumer Price Index. Efforts were geared towards plotting pricing locations on a large national-wide map, color-coding the dots according to eligible or in-eligible locations, and then printing the output on to large printouts for placement on the wall. Similar activities were also done for Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) locations, visual regional boundaries, and zipcode boundaries. PUBLICATIONS, PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, AND LANGUAGES Published Article, “Evaluating Item Rotation for the New Goods Initiative”, CPI Quality Quarterly. Native American Community: Maidu Indigenous Tribe of Northern California. TRAVEL AND HOBBIES U.S. Travel Nevada, Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, Virginia, California, Washington D.C. Foreign Travel England, Belgium, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Mexico, Belize, Bahamas, Zambia. Interests Real Estate Appraisal, Macro-Economic Theory, Investment Theory, Computer Technology, Issues of Class and Family in America. Hobbies Collectible Action Figures, Tae Kwon Do, Akido, Travel, Skiing, Reading, Photography, Horseback Riding. |
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