Rising Stars: Meet Audrey Warters

Today we’d like to introduce you to Audrey Warters.

Hi Audrey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Hi! I’m a Marketing Coordinator at TripleBlind and a part-time photographer and freelance writer on the side. I attended Raymore-Peculiar Senior High School, where I completed the International Baccalaureate Program, played the oboe and the clarinet, and served as President of the debate team.

After high school, I was admitted to Minerva University, a unique undergraduate program that sends students to 7 different global cities throughout the course of their education. I studied Political Science and Philosophy and completed a thesis project that functioned as a federal-level policy for data rights and privacy protections in the United States.

During my time at Minerva, I lived in San Francisco, Seoul, Hyderabad, Berlin, and Buenos Aires (pre-pandemic). I worked for numerous organizations, such as Microsoft Philanthropies, The Mulmangcho Project, the City Government of Buenos Aires, and more.

I had the privilege of being a digital storyteller, photographer, and writer for these organizations. Following my graduation in May of 2021, I took on a role as a Content Marketing Specialist at Verto Education before transitioning to my current role atTripleBlind in March of 2022.

I’d say my interests in policy and marketing stem from my time as a high school debater, where I was introduced to concepts like globalization, economic inequality, educational policy, and more. My creative interests in photography emerged much earlier –– my parents gave me a small digital camera when I was 10, and I’ve been taking pictures of everything ever since.

I used my first paycheck as a hostess to purchase a DSLR and started my photography business when I was 15. Now, I like to shoot portraits, landscapes, and other images that capture the realities and honesty of human life.

Marketing is where I’ve found an intersection between solving critical modern issues and expressing creativity. I’m fascinated by data analysis and using prior information to inform future decisions, and also deeply enjoy storytelling and artistic expression.

My current role allows me to engage with technology and data, while simultaneously crafting creative campaigns for our product.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life path was more than a little bumpy in adolescence, but each challenge taught me incredibly valuable life lessons.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go to college and knew I’d have to pay for it independently. I thought I’d take a gap year to save up the money, and lucked out by receiving an incredible scholarship to Minerva University.

I paid for the remainder on my own, taking on odd jobs like teaching English to kids in China at 5 am, waiting tables, freelance writing, and more. There were times I was either dead broke or living paycheck to paycheck, eating next to nothing to make sure I could cover the next semester’s tuition without taking on too much debt.

Living abroad also posed a unique set of challenges, and adapting to different cultures every six months proved to be both rewarding and difficult at the same time. I was diagnosed with IBS/Crohn’s midway through college, so learning how to adapt to food in each location became a unique opportunity to connect with my personal health and optimize life decisions accordingly.

When the pandemic hit, I was in Argentina – a country with one of the strictest lockdowns. I was initially unemployed and uncertain of how to get home, but found support in my family and worked as a research assistant for a beloved professor over the summer.

What I’ve learned the most in the past few years is to count your blessings, express deep gratitude, and laugh like hell when things go awry. I am beyond fortunate to have had the experiences that I’ve had at 22, and incredibly grateful to my family, friends, professors, and more for their support and mentorship along the way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Marketing Coordinator at TripleBlind, a start-up that has built the most complete and scalable solution for privacy-enhancing computation. Our product allows data owners and users to collaborate in a simple-to-use API without directly sharing or exposing sensitive information.

Major industries such as healthcare, finance, insurance, and more can finally garner groundbreaking insights from highly-regulated data, without compromising the individual right to privacy or risking a data breach.

As a Marketing Coordinator, I specialize in writing high-quality content that explains the technical aspects of our product and the impact TripleBlind could have on the future of data-based innovation. I work with our incredible Sales and Marketing teams to develop B2B marketing campaigns and tell the authentic story of our product.

I’m most proud of working with such smart, driven, and innovative individuals at TripleBlind. I learn something new every day, and genuinely feel so grateful to be a member of our team.

Outside of TripleBlind, I offer portrait, family, and other photography services. I shoot in natural light in outdoor locations, but am always open to exploring new locations and shooting in unique styles!

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Three interesting facts within the industry:

• Compliance is costly. Industry spending on compliance is estimated at $270 billion per year, with 87% of business leaders expecting investment in compliance to increase over the next three years.

• Regulations are constantly shifting. By 2023, 65% of the world’s population will have its personal data covered under modern privacy regulations.

• Insights-rich but regulated or sensitive data sits in private data stores, unleveraged by enterprises. In 2018, Gartner reported that nearly 97% of data sits unused by organizations.

Sources:

• Accenture, 2020. A smarter way to face compliance risk. Accenture. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/operations/smarter-way-to-face-risk [Accessed May 17, 2022].

• Gartner, 2020. Gartner says by 2023, 65% of the world’s population will have its personal data covered under Modern Privacy Regulations. Gartner. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-09-14-gartner-says-by-2023–65–of-the-world-s-population-w [Accessed May 17, 2022].

• Accenture, 2019. The Power of the Data-Driven Enterprise. Accenture. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-111/Accenture-AO-DDE-POV-v7.pdf [Accessed May 17, 2022].

After researching global policies on data privacy for 2+ years and then transitioning to work in the private sector, my personal belief is that the world is starting to care much more about how private information is collected, used, and stored. It’s probable that regulations will increase –– and oftentimes, rightfully so.

It’s crucial that people have control over their medical, financial, and otherwise personal information in the 21st century. The trick is striking a balance between the right to privacy and leveraging data for modern solutions, like curing cancer or improving financial systems.

Privacy-enhancing computation is a relatively new industry and category within the tech world, so my prediction is that it’ll become a critical tool in any data engineer, analyst, or AI developer’s wheelhouse.

The ability to analyze private information without ever sharing or revealing the data itself has boundless potential, as it strikes that balance between protecting consumer/individual rights and promoting technological innovation.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.audwarters.com
• Instagram: @Audrey_Warters
• Twitter: @audreywarters