Brian Richmond

Brian Richmond (PhD, Anthropological Sciences) is an award-winning data scientist with expertise in machine learning, statistics, experimental design, and data visualization. As Head of Data Science at Aura Health, he set up data infrastructure, led user research that drove major product improvements and over 8x increase in engagement, and built the recommendation AI that delivers a personalized experience to improve the mental health and well-being of millions of people. At WeWork, Brian Richmond was a Founder of the People Analytics team and awarded a '2018 Excellence Award' for his major contributions after only 8 months there. As a thought leader in people analytics, he co-organized the New York HR Analytics Meetup, a professional group with over 1200 members. He built and managed research teams as a professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the George Washington University and as a research scientist at the Smithsonian Institution and American Museum of Natural History, among others. His research and expertise have been featured on NOVA, National Geographic, the History Channel, NPR, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, and media outlets around the world. Awards and recognition for his research include a prestigious 2014 Humboldt Award for Research Excellence. His full list of over 100 academic publications can be found on GoogleScholar, ResearchGate, and AcademiaEdu, and his television appearances can be found on IMDb. Brian and his family live in the Bay Area, CA, where they can be found enjoying the local cuisine and natural beauty of the area.