Alumni in Action: Tammy Armstrong ‘15

Tammy Armstrong ’15 is a customer service operations analytics team leader for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to completing NC State’s Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) program, Armstrong worked in fundraising for private secondary schools in Pennsylvania and Oregon. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Gettysburg College, where she served as president of the Ultimate Frisbee Club.

Armstrong and her husband recently launched Bright Lights Big Data, “a podcast about people, places, and data,” wherein they discuss their industries and interview community change agents. We turned the tables and interviewed Armstrong to find out about her latest project and reflections on her MSA experience. For more on Armstrong, check out Episode 0 of her podcast.

What prompted you and your husband to launch your Bright Lights Big Data podcast?

Armstrong: My husband Mike and I both love listening to podcasts together and had been toying with the idea of creating one. Mike is a transportation planner for the Des Moines region, and we frequently have long conversations about our respective fields and how they serve as lenses on current events and the world around us. I also did a decent amount of theater and music in undergrad, and was feeling the need for a creative/performative outlet again. Everything clicked when I became a 2018 Fellow with the Des Moines chapter of the New Leaders Council: as part of the six-month long progressive leadership Institute, Fellows select capstone projects. It was just the kind of accountability and support network we needed to get started. As newcomers to Iowa, Mike and I have been learning the ins and outs of our local government and better understanding what it means to be active members of our new community. We quickly realized even born-and-raised locals felt that way, and thus Bright Lights Big Data was born.

Borrowing from your Bright Lights Big Data format, what are you most excited about right now?

Armstrong: At the end of April I was promoted to a management position within my company’s analytics department. I am now the team leader of a small group of analysts focused entirely on optimizing our customer service operations and the customer experience. This allows me not only to guide our analytics strategy, but also to empower my team to do exciting new work—sometimes work they previously thought impossible.

What was a highlight of your time as a student in NC State’s MS in Analytics program? How have your experiences here informed professional choices you’ve made and/or opportunities you’ve had since completing the MSA?

Armstrong: It’s hard to pick just one highlight, to be honest. Although the ten-month program can be an intense experience, it was extremely rewarding. The well-rounded classes and the lasting relationships with classmates, professors, and staff cannot be understated. If I had to pick one though, I would say the practicum experience. I was selected to be a practicum team lead, something I think I would have turned down if Dr. Rappa had let me—I was immensely intimidated by the task. In hindsight, it was an incredible experience of growth. Our team of six created a framework for RTI International to optimize disaster preparedness and response for hurricanes. We got to work with a wide variety of analytical techniques including clustering, GIS, optimization, and simulation. But more importantly, we had to wrestle with how to define the problem we were trying to solve, how to coordinate and document our work, and how to turn it all into a useful work product. These are skills I use every day when consulting for my business stakeholders, and skills I look for when I’m hiring. Without those skills, it’s very easy to produce clever work with little apparent business value.

The practicum team lead experience also gave me the confidence and courage to chase my ambitions and apply for my current leadership role, and was the source of many of my responses to interview questions about my management experience!

What influenced your decision to pursue a data analytics role in the healthcare space, particularly given your background in secondary school development?

Armstrong: In the four years between undergrad and the MSA, I worked in fundraising for private schools—first doing actual fundraising, and later running the donor database and conducting analysis. One of the things I loved most about my work in those years was the strong sense of purpose, and the commitment to a worthy mission. We were all there for the kids. Although I was curious to work somewhere with more than 200 employees, I still wanted that connection to mission, and I strongly believed the healthcare space was ripe with opportunities for data science to explore.

What do you do for fun (when you’re not working on Bright Lights Big Data)?

Armstrong: I enjoy spending time with my one-year-old daughter, playing video games and soccer with my husband, traveling… I also serve on the board of a small nonprofit called Reboot Iowa, which focuses on helping adults make career changes to technology.