Entrepreneur with a passion for turning data-driven insights into tangible business outcomes. In 2021, I founded a startup and earned a spot in the Capital Factory Startup Accelerator, an experience that deepened my commitment to innovation and growth.

My professional journey includes working in actuarial science at Willis Towers Watson and contributing to AI development at Milliman IntelliScript. With over five years in corporate roles and several years as an independent contractor, I bring a versatile and analytical approach to every project.

I love programming in R and was the original author of an open-source R package titled Datasets for Predictive Analytics, a CRAN library that reached more than 1,100 monthly downloads in 2020. That work came out of my own research and hands-on project experience. Over time, my name and authorship were removed from the materials, and the current version of the library substantially reproduces the structure and content of my original contribution without attribution. In my view, that evolution of the package effectively plagiarized the core of my work and took my name off the research.

  • Integrated Security Consultants Inc logo

    Integrated Security Consultants, Inc

    AI Solutions Developer

    March 2025 - June 2025 (4 months) · Massachusetts, United States

    • Trained LLMs to act as virtual tech guides, automating the step-by-step install process for surveillance cameras and security systems.
  • PassMyExam logo

    Pass My Exam, LLC

    Product Developer

    June 2024 - August 2024 (3 months) · Massachusetts, United States

    • Recipient of AWS Activate Startups program (Tier 1)
    • Built UI/UX materials for AI and Machine Learning
    • Developed web applications using AWS
    • Built YouTube channel from zero to 50,000+ lifetime views through strategic content development and audience engagement
    • Analyzed viewer metrics and engagement data to optimize content performance and channel growth strategies
  • Expedia Group logo

    Expedia Group

    Data Analyst

    November 2022 - November 2023 (1 year 1 month) · Austin, Texas, United States

    • Analyzed large-scale travel data related to flight bookings, vacation rentals, hotels, and car rentals, handling data at scale.
    • Architected predictive analytics models processing global travel datasets, encompassing flight bookings, hotel reservations, and vacation rentals.
    • Accelerated data workflows from 3 days to hours using AI-tuned Python scripts. This enabled real-time data access.
    • Explored datasets from 100+ countries with machine learning. Turned raw numbers into strategic insights that shaped where the company invested next.
    • Developed AI agents with Python and R, which successfully performed tasks assigned to them, and addressed complex forecasting challenges, utilizing API get requests and scheduled scripts in PowerShell.
    • Safeguarded sensitive customer data following international privacy regulations, ensuring strict compliance.
  • Capital Factory

    Pass My Exam LLC

    Founder, CEO

    November 2019 - May 2022 (2 years 7 months) · Austin, Texas, United States

    • Started a business which secured early-stage support with Capital Factory, a leading startup accelerator in downtown Austin Texas that supports hundreds of small businesses and provides top-level business mentoring and resources in Capital Factory University sessions—founder-led masterclasses that translate entrepreneurial theory into real-world tactics.
    • Completed a selective 12-week accelerator featuring daily workshops on AI, customer discovery, product-market fit, fundraising, and go-to-market strategy.
    • Engineered and maintained a cloud-based data platform hosting predictive analytics models.
    • Developed Python-based ETL pipelines for data ingestion and transformation.
    • Deployed AWS services including S3, Lambda, and EC2 for cost-efficient computing.
    • Mentored junior data engineers and led a team of freelancers.
  • Boehringer Ingelheim logo

    Boehringer Ingelheim

    Data Scientist Contractor

    June 2021 - October 2021 (5 months) · Austin, Texas, United States

    • Brought on by an agency Data Science Talent Limited, for a contractor with the Animal Health Data team with Boehringer Ingelheim.
    • Constructed convolutional neural network (CNN) models in TensorFlow for high-throughput biological data classification in pharmaceutical research applications that accelerated the pharmaceutical discovery timelines by 30%.
    • Tested Neural Networks on genomic datasets for COVID-19 antibody vaccine research, demonstrating expertise in healthcare data applications.
    • Developed comprehensive animal health databases enabling empirical analysis for veterinary medicine applications.
    • Orchestrated SQL and Python/R for data pipeline engineering, creating clean, structured datasets optimized for machine learning model training.
    • Managed large streaming datasets from search analytics, TV metrics, retail sales, and promotions. Supported strategic sales initiatives by identifying key trends in the healthcare sector.
  • Keywell.ai logo

    Keywell.ai

    Reporting Analyst Contractor

    May 2021- July 2021 · Austin, Texas

    • Prepared data for AI/ML Initiatives using Python, improving data quality for advanced analytics.
    • Helped a medical team track eating disorder treatment by building a data reporting pipeline using AWS Athena, RDS, Glue, and S3 that turns EHR data into a self-service reporting dashboard.
    • Improved database design by refactoring a 600 line SQL script into 50 lines of code using inner joins, subqueries, case when statements, and lookup tables.
  • Milliman IntelliScript logo

    Milliman IntelliScript

    Data Scientist

    January 2019 - April 2020 (1 year 4 months) · Greater Chicago Area

    • Trained AI and ML models on large scale data.
    • Utilized distributed computing to efficiently handle large-scale data processing, optimizing system performance and enabling seamless integration.
    • Engineered data pipelines for healthcare datasets containing 10+ million individual records, achieving 13% improvement in predictive model performance through advanced feature engineering.
    • Integrated medical datasets using standardized healthcare coding systems (ICD, CPT, DRG), creating AI models for Fortune 500 health care companies.
    • Leveraged distributed computing frameworks for processing 200TB healthcare workloads, achieving 50% cost reduction while maintaining data integrity.
    • Ensured strict compliance with healthcare data security regulations including HIPAA and GDPR, implementing zero-trust infrastructure protocols.
    • Developed privacy-preserving AI algorithms generating anonymized group-level insights while protecting individual patient data confidentiality.
  • Willis Towers Watson logo

    Willis Towers Watson

    Actuarial Analyst

    February 2018 - January 2019 (1 year) · Greater Boston Area

    • Used Rescue, Radar, and Emblem to conduct reserving studies.
    • Assisted account managers for international airlines & hotels.
    • Optimized big data framework and reduced costs by 50%.
    • Subject matter expert on predictive analytics tools.
    • Designed predictive models for customer behavior analysis serving major healthcare and travel clients, providing financial projections and strategic insights.
    • Optimized big data architecture processing on 200TB scale, reducing operational costs by 50% through distributed computing implementation.
    • Coordinated international AI/ML initiatives across multiple countries, delivering pre-trained models requiring client-specific fine-tuning and customization.
  • Milliman logo

    Milliman

    Actuarial Intern

    October 2017 - January 2018 (4 months) · Greater Boston Area

    • Updated reserving analysis for property and casualty insurance companies.
    • Performed rate-filing reviews for New England carriers.
    • Captive insurance feasibility studies for firms located in Bermuda.
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield logo

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

    Data Science Intern

    June 2017 - August 2017 (3 months) · Boston

    • Participated in research on health insurance plan design using analytics and machine learning.
    • Presented at end-of-internship event about how people with low back pain can reduce the need for surgery.
    • Attended cross-disciplinary mentoring sessions with actuaries and data scientists.
Me collaborating with Expedia Group team during a bowling outing
Team collaboration and a bowling outing with the Expedia Group, Texas, 2023.
Me illustrating integral calculus concepts at Capital Factory
Collaborating with community at a fundraiser
Me working with my team project work at University of Massachusetts Amherst
Classmates at UMass Amherst. Patrick on my right double-majored in Computer Science and Mathematics! .
Me presenting at the college conference
Judging the student presentations at DataFest with our amazing crew.
Me at Unity Game Studios, exploring computational applications
Exploring quantitative modeling at Unity Game Studios with these amazing people!

Education

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Bachelor's Degree, Mathematics

2015 - May 2017

  • Major in Mathematics

Coursework inAlgebra, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Finance, Differential Equations

Undergraduate Honors Student — University of Massachusetts Amherst
Graduated with honors in Mathematics while completing the of the actuarial exam track and active in Gamma Iota Sigma.

Actuarial Exams & Certifications

I have successfully passed the following Society of Actuaries (SOA) / Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) exams — each one of the most rigorous professional credentialing programs in the world (graduate-level difficulty).

  • Exam P — Probability Theory Passed
  • Exam PA — Predictive Analytics (top-tier machine-learning exam) Passed
  • Exam MFE / 3F — Models for Financial Economics Passed
  • Exam STAM — Short-Term Actuarial Mathematics Passed
  • Exam FM / 2 — Financial Mathematics Passed

Recommendations

Galen Walters

Chairman at Relationshop, Mercatus & Stor.ai / Owner, GoThinkConsulting.com / interim CEO at Hill & Lock / President - COO Previon Health

I was party to one of the worst technological fiascos as Samuel attempted to present his product to a group of potential investors. The spitter on the monitors from the laptop was faulty obviously, and his pitch deck was flashing from the left to right and back left over and over and over. Samuel was wonderful fodder for the participants as he humored the situation with grace. This kid has the skin of a rhino :-) My hats off to him! Well done.

Gabriel Cavazos

Veteran Entrepreneur

I gave Sam very vague requirements about what I was looking for in a data analysis project. He was able to work with me to define the scope and iterated on my needs to ensure a useful and insightful product. He accomplished all of this under budget. He discovered patterns I never expected, pairing his expertise with my industry knowledge perfectly. I'd strongly recommend Sam for any data task you may have.

Gavin Wiener

Freelance Funnel Builder | Landing Page Design | AI Automation

Working directly with Sam has been a pleasure, especially on more technical projects. Technical projects often have many unknowns, but Sam always knew and expressed what the overarching end goal was. By focusing on that end goal, he created flexibility and made it easier and more enjoyable to achieve wins along the way. His coordination ensured everyone had what they needed for the project to move along smoothly.

Faizan Qadeer

Video Editor | Motion Graphic Artist | 2D Animator

Sam and I have worked together for 8 months on Upwork. Sam has been running a teaching business for 18 months and teaches data science. He’s easy to work with and extremely consistent with project management. Despite tight deadlines and last-minute changes, he always gave clear instructions and checked my workload before assigning new tasks. His talent, professionalism, and positive attitude speak volumes!

Matt Jensen

Fullstack Web Engineer

I met Sam in the Austin Software Developer's meetup. He stood out as someone who values hands-on experience over theorizing. Whether it was copywriting or audience engagement, Sam’s practical advice raised the bar. His insights on promoting my own project elevated my thinking. Sam’s real-world experience with business promotion makes him an asset to any team!

Cornelius Toole

Senior Software Engineer at Zenoss

I met Sam in an entrepreneurship Meetup group. As co-host, he’s been vital in keeping that community alive during the pandemic. Sam listens carefully, offers thoughtful advice, and connects people with the right skills and knowledge to solve problems. He’s growth-oriented and unafraid to step outside his comfort zone.

Kelsie Gosser

Senior Product Manager at Milliman MedInsight

Sam and I worked on improving data visualization design at our firm. He created a survey to understand how others used visualization tools and co-developed an R library called mr_workflow for internal users. Sam goes out of his way to improve the work experience for others and takes initiative when it’s needed most.

C. Grayson (Gray) Schlichting

Technical Business Strategist – Advanced Networking, IoT, Security, and 5G

I’ve known Sam for over six months through Austin-Indiehackers.com meetings, where he’s a co-organizer. Sam constantly expands his skills, driven by curiosity and problem solving. He’s helped many use their technical skills independently by facilitating meaningful networking and connections. His ability to listen, reflect, and facilitate makes him a genuine asset—and a pleasure to work with.

Rab Beverly

Mentor | Experiment, Improve, Create, Share

Sam is making predictive analytics approachable to new talent in the actuarial field—no small feat. He constantly looks for ways to improve his students’ experience and the quality of his content. Sam is hardworking, humble, and smart—the kind of person everyone wants to work with.

5-Star Customer Reviews

From the Lone-Star State

November, 2023

This course was the piece (in my opinion) that pushed me over the finish line, and I can’t express how grateful I am that it was there when I needed it. I will definitely recommend it to anyone I know looking to prepare for Exam PA.

Passed Dec 2020 · James, Associate Actuary

A great learning tool and life saver!

Passed Dec 2020 · Actuarial Analyst

The SOA modules do not prepare you for this exam. Sam’s course helped me to pass even though I started it pretty late. I only purchased the course on October 28th and sat for the exam on December 7th (preferably leave yourself more time). I passed with a 7. I actually thought the SOA modules and examples would get me there. When I got near the end of the modules I realized how underprepared I was and signed up for Sam’s course. The course tells you what you need to know and how to effectively study for the exam. It has a clear schedule. The way he teaches, writes, and explains things is easy to understand.

Passed Dec 2020 · Associate Actuary

I almost exclusively used ExamPA.net for studying for PA, and I basically crammed it all in two days and I got an 8!

Passed June 2020 · Actuarial Associate

I found that with its focus on hands-on training, the course delivers a significant boost to meeting all the learning requirements for the PA exam.

Passed Dec 2019 · Senior Manager

Buy 👏 this 👏 course 👏 This course is the reason I passed in December. I wouldn't have been able to prepare at all on my own, and I wouldn't have even been willing to try and sit for the December exam if it weren't this product. I passed after only studying for 2.5 months because Sam is really that good.

Passed Dec 2019 · Senior Actuarial Analyst

The videos really helped my understanding of topics, especially being able to hear the thought process while doing a question. Also, the tips on exam setting and how to save time were really helpful.

Passed June 2020 · Senior Actuarial Analyst at Lombard

The time savings tip is really helpful especially when you write the Executive Summary towards the end of the exam. The video lesson on past SOA exams and solutions and new practice exams are great too. If the forum participation can be more active with more members, then that will be better for all. Thanks. Passed the PA exam with an 8 in June 2020.

Anonymous, Actuarial Analyst