Nashlie Sephus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nashlie Sephus
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| Born |
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Mississippi State University Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering |
| Occupation | Computer engineer, entrepreneur, technology evangelist |
| Awards | Ada Lovelace Award (2019) |
Nashlie H. Sephus is an American computer engineer and entrepreneur. She is an expert in machine learning, which is how computers learn from data. She also helps identify algorithmic bias, which is when computer programs make unfair decisions. Nashlie works as a technology evangelist at Amazon Web Services, helping people understand new technologies. She also co-founded and leads Bean Path, a non-profit company. This company is building the Jackson Tech District, a special area for technology businesses in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Nashlie's Early Life and Education
Nashlie Sephus was born and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. She lived in a home with only women. When she was younger, she went to a two-week engineering camp for girls. This camp helped her discover her interest in computer engineering.
She finished high school at Murrah High School in 2003. In 2007, she earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science, in computer engineering from Mississippi State University. After college, Nashlie received a special scholarship called a GEM fellowship. This scholarship paid for her graduate school and gave her internships. It also promised her a job at Delphi Electronics & Safety after she finished her advanced degrees.
Nashlie continued her studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering. She earned both a master's degree and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering. She finished her Ph.D. in 2014.
Her Career Journey
In 2013, while still studying for her Ph.D., Nashlie started working part-time for a new company called Partpic. This company was started by all black women. At Partpic, Nashlie helped create special computer programs that could recognize images. These programs are called visual recognition algorithms.
Later, Nashlie worked as a software engineer at a company called Exponent in New York. In 2015, she joined Partpic full-time and became their chief technology officer. This meant she was in charge of all the technology at the company.
In 2016, a big company called Amazon bought Partpic. Nashlie then became the leader of the Amazon Visual Search team in Atlanta. She later became a manager at Amazon Web Services Artificial Intelligence. Her team worked on creating tools to find and fix bias in machine learning models. This helps make sure that computer programs are fair. Today, she is a technology evangelist at Amazon. This means she helps explain and promote new technologies.
Building the Jackson Tech District
In 2018, Nashlie Sephus started making plans to create a technology community in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. This project is part of her non-profit company, Bean Path. She is the co-founder and CEO of Bean Path.
Bean Path aims to create a business incubator. This is a place that helps new technology companies grow. In 2019, Nashlie and Julie Cwikla received the Ada Lovelace Award. This award recognizes women who have made important contributions to technology.
On September 11, 2020, Nashlie bought 12 acres of land near Jackson State University. She plans to use this land to build the Jackson Tech District. This district will be a hub for technology and innovation in Jackson.
See also
