Election of Statistics Without Borders Executive Committee Officers 2024-2026
 
SWB members may vote for officers and proposed charter changes beginning May 20 until June 2 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.  To vote, click on the link at the bottom of this page.  
 
The bios of candidates running in the election and proposed charter changes are below: 
 
Candidates for Chair
 
Matt Brems
 
Hello, I’m Matt! I currently serve as Chair for Statistics Without Borders, and I’ve served on SWB’s Executive Committee since 2019. Since joining SWB 6 years ago, I’ve served as Vice Chair, Director of Marketing & Communications, Acting Director of Operations, and Project & Client Management Team Lead. Professionally, I’m an award-winning educator and mentor. I currently lead training and education for Domino Data Lab as Director, Technical Solutions & Developer Relations. At General Assembly, I trained over 1,000 students in data science and Python, and earned their inaugural "Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year" award. I also mentor early-career technologists with Coding It Forward — earning their top mentoring award in 2022 — and the Washington Statistical Society. I earned my Master’s degree in statistics from Ohio State.
 

If elected, I will continue on the momentum we have built together. This momentum relies on three things: our clients, our volunteers, and our infrastructure. Accordingly, my top three priorities are to Increase our Impact, Improve our Volunteer Experience, and Invest in our Infrastructure.

  1. In 2023, we helped 51 clients around the world do more good. We are a force multiplier, empowering communities to do more good than they could or we could alone. Let's measurably increase our impact together.
  2. Out work isn't possible without volunteers. From volunteer recognition, to creating more opportunities for volunteers to get involved, to improving onboarding and education, there are many opportunities to enrich how we engage with our volunteers. Let's improve our volunteer experience together. 
  3. To realize our ambitous dreams, we can't just set goals. We must regularly examine our teams, systems, and technologies, avoid technical and organizational debt, and make choices that ensure SWB continues to be a positive force for decades. 

I hope you’ll join me in this work, and I’ll be honored to have your support.

 
Candidates for Vice Chair
 
Varun Garde                                                                                                                           

 

Hello! My name is Varun Garde, and I've been a SWB volunteer since 2016. I have over a decade of experience in pricing statistics, data visualization, CX and business analytics. In my full-time job, I work on Monetization and Business Planning at Microsoft. 

I began knowledge volunteering in 2012 when, alongside my fellow students, I was approached by an Ann Arbor air ambulance serving Central America to achieve operational breakeven. Since that experience, I've become increasingly passionate about the causes of literacy, health and food security. My family and I also volunteer for local issues such as park district and school health board. 

In my professional background, I've managed large budgetary responsibilities (greater than $10M) and overseen teams of statisticians and data science professionals while managing communications with CXO level executives.I hold an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.

If elected, I plan to help SWB make significant improvements in volunteer experience and engagement, while continuing to advance the progress made in the project pipeline and partner experience.I am eager to leverage my background in customer experience to develop avenues that enable volunteers to quantify and showcase their impact, learn new skills, and measure their progress in how their contributions have benefited society, favorite causes, and their own skill sets through SWB.I also aim to simplify the project matching experience in a way that broadens the base of engagement across all volunteers.

My goal is to enhance the quality and breadth of participation, thereby accelerating SWB's volunteer pipeline, and aiding us in making a greater impact in the future. I would be honored to have your support in this mission.

 
Charter Changes

The links below point to the old charter ( version 202 ), the new charter ( version 301 ) and the summary of changes. It is recommended that members go through the summary of changes at the very minimum prior to voting. 
 
 
 
 
 

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The deadline to cast your vote is June 2 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. To vote, click on this link. The site is password protected. SWB members have been emailed the password. Please vote only once