Yeshimabeit Milner facts for kids

Yeshimabeit "Yeshi" Milner is an American who works with technology and is also an activist. This means she uses her skills to help make the world a better place. She is the leader and co-founder of an organization called Data for Black Lives.

Growing Up and Learning

Yeshimabeit Milner grew up in Miami, Florida. When she was a teenager, she started getting involved in activism. Activism is when people work to bring about social or political change. She also became interested in data science. Data science is about using computers to study large amounts of information.

As a high school senior, Yeshi worked with the Power U Center for Social Change. This group helps people in the community. After high school, she went to Brown University. She graduated in 2012 with a degree in Africana Studies.

Making a Difference

After college, in 2013, Yeshi returned to Miami. She continued working with the Power U Center for Social Change. She started looking into why so many Black babies in the area were not surviving. This is called the Black infant mortality rate.

Yeshi and her team collected information from 300 mothers. By understanding this data, they helped change local rules. These changes aimed to improve health for mothers and babies.

Starting Data for Black Lives

One of Yeshi's classmates from Brown University was Lucas Mason-Brown. He is a mathematician. Together, they started Data for Black Lives (D4BL) in November 2017.

In 2018, Yeshi and Lucas began the D4BL annual conference. Their main idea is "Abolish Big Data!" This means they want to change how big data is used. They want to make sure data helps people who need it most.

Helping Communities with Data

In 2020, D4BL collected important information. They gathered state-level data about how COVID-19 affected Black people. They are also creating a national database. This database will show what technologies police departments use.

In 2021, Yeshi wrote a research paper for Demos. This paper was about "algorithmic racism". This happens when computer programs from big technology companies are unfair.

Awards and Recognition

Yeshimabeit Milner has been recognized for her important work. She was on the board of the Highlander Research and Education Center. This center helps people learn and grow.

In 2018, she received a Roddenberry Foundation Fellowship. This award honors amazing people. It supports those who can help change the world for the better.

In 2020, Data for Black Lives and its founders received more awards. They were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. This list highlights young, successful people. They also won a New York Times 2020 Good Tech Award.

See also

• African-American women in computer science