NVTC Honors Data Scientist Bahirah Adewunmi

Data scientist Bahirah Adewunmi—and Booz Allen—are being honored for technology leadership and innovation. The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) recently named Adewunmi as one of six NextGen Leaders, and the firm as a Tech 100 Company. NVTC represents the national capital region’s technology community and annually awards companies and people who drive innovation and contribute to the region’s economic growth.

“What makes someone a next-generation technology leader? An entrepreneurial, innovative spirit and a commitment to advancing technologies that are ethical and equitable,” said Booz Allen Chief Technology Officer Susan Penfield. “Bahirah exemplifies this as she supports client missions and helps build our cyber, artificial intelligence (AI), and data science capabilities and I’m thrilled to see her receive this honor.” 

Adewunmi’s technology career spans four continents, a Fortune 100 firm, nonprofits, and, for the past 4 years, Booz Allen. The lead associate has supported Booz Allen’s federal and defense clients as an advanced data scientist, software engineer, researcher, and technical lead.

“My job is to think of what’s going to happen in the future and help my clients stay at the cutting edge,” she said.

For Adewunmi, this means advancing both innovation and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As a founding member of Booz Allen’s Black Analytics Group, she’s helped organize several efforts to recruit, develop talent, and seed research at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU).

Booz Allen’s Black Analytics Group has played a pivotal role in:

• Hosting Booz Allen’s first 24-hour HBCU CodeFest as a part of an HBCU Research & Innovation Network conference
• Supporting student projects at Bowie State University in the areas of natural language processing, computer vision, and 3D printing
• Researching equity and bias in the deployment of AI for healthcare and social justice

“To me, being an NVTC NextGen leader means being aware of social issues as you innovate and being able to provide global and societal context alongside technical development,” Adewunmi said.

Adewunmi is also active in Women in Data Science initiatives within and outside of the firm and Booz Allen’s Technology Experience Groups (TXG) for data science, cyber, and AI—all dedicated to building the skills of individual employees and the overall technology ecosystem.

“2022 has been a year of tremendous growth for our region’s technology hub, thanks to the dynamic companies and individuals who are innovating and making a positive impact in the world,” said NVTC President and CEO Jennifer Taylor. “Their contributions are the reason our region is one of the nation’s most vibrant and collaborative technology communities.”

Adewunmi finds motivation in such community and collaboration. “I get inspired about what other people are doing,” she said. “It’s an exhilarating mindset: camaraderie, dedication to knowledge, and the democratization of knowledge, tempered by responsibility and accountability.”

“NVTC congratulates Booz Allen for going above and beyond within their company and in their respective industries,” Taylor said. “Even in these unprecedented times of record levels of high inflation and hybrid work, the future of our tech community is brighter than ever because of the momentous contributions of these leaders and companies.”