Alumnae 2019

After studying in Shana Ba’Aretz in 2011-12, Emily Blady attended Barnard College, graduating with a BA in Applied Mathematics in 2016. She founded Barnard Quant, the Columbia/Barnard chapter of the Association of Women in Mathematics, led the Columbia/Barnard chapter of Challah For Hunger, and assisted the Barnard administration in launching the school’s first stand-alone computer science department by collaborating with the college president to fundraise for millions of dollars in grants. After graduating, Emily scored her first dream job, breaking all stereotypes, to intern for the Detroit Tigers in Baseball Operations & Analytics. She is now a baseball analyst for the Chicago White Sox, where she builds statistical models and leverages data science findings to help the team make decisions. Emily’s focus with the White Sox is on player valuation and she assists with things like trades, free agency, roster construction and the amateur draft. Emily got married a couple of days ago on the first night of Channukah. In true Nishmat fashion, she and her chattan, Shimon Epstein, made a joint siyum on the morning of the wedding on Masechet Rosh Hashanah, which they had learned together throughout their engagement. Emily says: “Nishmat is the place where I discovered the depths of intellectual Judaism and how to put that together with spirituality. There, I found role models for learning, a deeper love of Israel and best friends for life.”