Nationwide Center for Advanced Customer Insights

Research Team

Management Team

Jessica Kohlschmidt

Director

Dr. Jessica K. Kohlschmidt is a distinguished biostatistician, educator, and leader in the statistical community. A first-generation college student from Houston, her early passion for math and teaching evolved into a dedicated career in statistics after discovering its real-world applications.

She has built a multifaceted career that combines teaching, high-impact clinical research, and significant leadership roles in professional organizations. For 12 years, she applied her expertise to leukemia outcomes research at The Ohio State University, and she has been a college educator since 1999.

Dr. Kohlschmidt is deeply committed to mentorship and outreach, particularly encouraging young women to pursue statistics, and holds key leadership positions in the several statistical organizations, including the American Statistical Association (ASA).

Josh Mills

Executive in Residence

Dr. Josh Mills is a leader and a lifelong learner with a solid track record of experience developing and leading high-impact initiatives in the realm of data science & analytics at a Fortune 100 company. I've built or led model building and segmentation efforts supporting multiple lines of business in the insurance industry (e.g. Personal Lines, Financial Products, Worker's Comp, Excess & Surplus) as well as efforts supporting Marketing (e.g. Marketing Mix Modeling).

In addition, I'm currently leading a multi-year change management effort involving several cross-functional working teams, as we roll out a new end-to-end model build and deployment infrastructure. A large part of this effort involves development of associate-led hands-on training session for audiences of 100+ data scientists, data engineers, and actuaries. I've also played a major role in gaining alignment on key infrastructure design decisions.

My proudest achievement is the development and expansion of our department internship program, which, over a period of six years, has brought in over 50 interns from multiple disciplines and from across the country, from over 100 top-tier universities. Many of these interns became full-time employees with us and eventually became leaders in their own right. I played a major role in designing the recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding processes for the program and worked continuously to adapt the program to changing times.

I am a leader and a lifelong learner with a solid track record of experience developing and leading high-impact initiatives in the realm of data science & analytics at a Fortune 100 company. I've built or led model building and segmentation efforts supporting multiple lines of business in the insurance industry (e.g. Personal Lines, Financial Products, Worker's Comp, Excess & Surplus) as well as efforts supporting Marketing (e.g. Marketing Mix Modeling). In addition, I'm currently leading a multi-year change management effort involving several cross-functional working teams, as we roll out a new end-to-end model build and deployment infrastructure. A large part of this effort involves development of associate-led hands-on training session for audiences of 100+ data scientists, data engineers, and actuaries. I've also played a major role in gaining alignment on key infrastructure design decisions. My proudest achievement is the development and expansion of our department internship program, which, over a period of six years, has brought in over 50 interns from multiple disciplines and from across the country, from over 100 top-tier universities. Many of these interns became full-time employees with us and eventually became leaders in their own right. I played a major role in designing the recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding processes for the program and worked continuously to adapt the program to changing times. I also play a large role in our department's hiring and onboarding processes, working with leadership and Human Resources to evolve our practices and processes to meet the changing needs of our department and a rapidly changing marketplace. I believe in the concept of servant leadership, and I seek to empower and motivate others to embrace the concept of being lifelong learners and capitalize on their towering strengths to drive business value. In the future, I want to take on progressively more challenging opportunities that will enable me to play a more strategic role in the realm of data & analytics, particularly in the areas of end-to-end modeling and deployment infrastructure, talent planning, and change management.

Tim Welch

Administrative Associate

As administrator of the center, he is in charge of all human resources and financial functions. He has bachelor's degrees in Biology and Psychology. He has extensive office management experience and taught classes on Microsoft Office and Office Management for more than five years at a community college.

Qianqian Li

Undergraduate Opportunity Program co-Lead

Qianqian is a data scientist with extensive experience in both consulting (EY) and the insurance industry, where she has built and deployed machine learning solutions that directly influence business decisions and outcomes.

As co-lead of this Undergraduate Opportunity Program, she is thrilled to help students grow their potential by giving them hands-on analytics projects in a real corporate environment. she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of talent and bridging the gap between academic learning and industry impact.

Darryl Gleason

Undergraduate Opportunity Program co-Lead

Dr. Darryl Gleason is a data scientist with a background in pure, experimental research. At Nationwide, he has worked on a variety of machine learning and generative AI modeling efforts spanning from pricing / rate-making to process optimization.

As co-lead of the Undergraduate Opportunity Program, he's excited to help provide student researchers a solid foundation of analytics-relevant skills. Darryl enjoys teaching and looks forward to contributing to the growth of the students' technical and interpersonal expertise.

NCACI Graduate Students

Victoria Dikeman

Graduate Research Associate, Department of English

Tori is a Ph.D. student in the Department of English at Ohio State. She has also earned a B.A. in English Literary Studies from Bucknell University.. She also received an A.A. in Arts & Humanities from Lehigh Carbon Community College.

NCACI Undergraduate Students

Stephanie McCauley

Stephanie McCauley is a Junior from New York City studying City and Regional Planning. She holds a strong interest in project management, community development, and design communication. Minoring in Landscape Architecture and Public Policy, she is very involved on-campus and enjoys traveling.

David Park

David Park is an OSU computer science student-researcher and assistant instructor (TA) for CSE 2221, and he plans to pursue an MS/PhD in quantum computing in AU26 after graduating in SP/SU26. He loves teaching, cooking, and traveling—and by late 2025 aims to summit Acatenango and Mont Blanc and visit 20+ countries, spending his downtime with his two Bengal kittens.