Faith Lierheimer
About
I've been a dbt Community member for around a year and a half. I come to the data world from teaching and academic research. Working in data fuses the aspects of those careers that I like the most, which are technical problem solving, and helping non-technical audiences understand data and what they can do with it. I have a dream stack with Databricks, dbt, and Looker. Professionally, I help shippers of perishable goods (everything from blueberries to childhood vaccinations) understand the risks their goods face in transit and how to mitigate them.This reduces food and medical waste worldwide. You can read more about these interests at faithfacts.substack.com.
When did you join the dbt community and in what way has it impacted your career?
I joined the dbt community early in 2022 hoping to find technical help with dbt, and instead found a wide support network of career-minded data professionals. Being in the dbt community has helped me find my niche in the data world, and has helped me discover ways I can grow my career and technical acumen. Being in this community has been huge in easing my career transition from teaching into data.
What dbt community leader do you identify with? How are you looking to grow your leadership in the dbt community?
I primarily conceptualize of leadership as raising the floor beneath everyone, rather than enabling a few to touch its vaulted ceiling. As I gain more experience, I'd be delighted to be a resource for fellow career changers and teachers in transition.
And, I love to goof in #roast-my-graph in the dbt Slack. Come join that channel, it's a hoot and a holler.
What have you learned from community members? What do you hope others can learn from you?
I've learned a lot from community members, but most notably and concretely, I've actually gotten excellent visualization advice in #roast-my-graph. I've taken graphs there several times where I felt stuck on the presentation and have learned a lot about effective vizzes from my peers there.
As I continue to gain experience, I hope others can learn from me what a successful career change looks like. And, ultimately, to take the work seriously but to not take ourselves that seriously.
Anything else interesting you want to tell us?
I have a black cat with one eye named Gus and my purpose is now to give him the best existence possible.