Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. Email and Phone Number

Responsible AI Lead · White House USDS & PIF Alum · Quantum Topology · Musician/Songwriter @ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s Location
Miami, Florida, United States, United States
Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s Contact Details

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. work email

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. personal email

n/a
About Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.

AI Leader | Innovator | Mathematician (Erdős number: 4) | MusicianNelson A. Colón Vargas is a passionate advocate for education, equity, and civic tech, boasting a diverse background across academia, startups, Fortune 100 companies, and the Federal Government. His unique blend of expertise has driven AI innovation and made a significant impact in various domains.Notable among his achievements is Nelson's leadership in developing the groundbreaking Claims Attributes API, revolutionizing benefit claims processing at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This AI-driven solution accurately predicts benefit claims based on veterans' descriptions, resulting in reduced processing time and millions of dollars in savings for the agency. Nelson's exceptional contributions were recognized with a prestigious Special Act Award.Within the Department of Transportation, Nelson addressed the technical knowledge gap within the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office. By creating comprehensive evaluation rubrics and implementing standardized processes, he enabled informed funding decisions for AI-driven projects. Additionally, he spearheaded a program that leverages expertise from government agencies to fill the gaps in technical knowledge within the organization.As an Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, Nelson empowers students with the tools to leverage data-driven policy-making for positive change. Through his teaching, he combines his passion for education, AI, and helping others, nurturing the next generation of policymakers and fostering innovation.Beyond his professional endeavors, Nelson is a talented musician and songwriter. Music has always been a wellspring of inspiration for him, grounding him and fueling his creativity. Through concise storytelling tools acquired from songwriting he is able to connect and communicate complex ideas, making AI concepts accessible to diverse audiences.Nelson remains committed to leveraging his expertise in AI, innovation, and education to drive positive change, bridge the gap between technology and society, and create a future where AI-driven solutions promote inclusivity, efficiency, and equitable progress.__Written with ChatGPT. How cool is that?__

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s Current Company Details
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs

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Responsible AI Lead · White House USDS & PIF Alum · Quantum Topology · Musician/Songwriter
Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. Work Experience Details
  • U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs
    Responsible Ai Lead
    U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs Dec 2023 - Present
    Washington, Dc, Us
    - Leading the agency through the Inventory and review of AI use cases to ensure compliance with Safety and Rights Impacting requirements from OMB M-24-10 memo.- Drafting AI Policy for the agency.- Lead the AI Policy Workstream under the newly formed Office of the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at VA.- I also build AI products for the agency, whenever I have time, mostly in the NLP/NLU space and mostly related to benefits.
  • Partnership For Public Service
    Federal Innovation Council Member
    Partnership For Public Service Sep 2023 - Present
    Washington, Dc, Dc, Us
  • Columbia | Sipa
    Adjunct Faculty
    Columbia | Sipa Sep 2022 - Dec 2024
    New York, Ny, Us
    Lecturer for Computing in Context (INAF-U6006)Course Description: This graduate course teaches students the basics of programming and Data Analysis (in Python) and how to apply said tools in the context of Public Policy.
  • Fda
    Ai Lead | Responsible Ai Official
    Fda Jun 2023 - Dec 2023
    Silver Spring, Md, Us
    I served as part of the Senior Leadership team as the agency-wide AI/ML Lead, providing strategic leadership and guidance on the applied use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Large Language Models (LLM), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) as well as policy input to the Department of Health and Human Services. I also serve as the Responsible AI Official for FDA.Additional duties:◦ Chair of the AI Governance and Advisory Board◦ Member of the Machine Learning and AI Subcommittee at the White House National Science and Technology Council.◦ Member of the AI Subcommittee at the Digital Health Advisory Board.◦ Member of the White House AI R&D Working Group.◦ Member of the White House Data & Innovation Task Force, as part of the AI Testing models effort as well as the the AI for Oncology, Cancer Moonshot.◦ Member of the Responsible AI Council◦ AI & Data Subject Matter Expert for the Interagency Collaboratory initiative between Defense Health Agency, Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • United States Digital Service
    Digital Service Expert - Ai/Ml/Ds
    United States Digital Service Nov 2022 - Jun 2023
    Washington, Dc, Us
    USDS is a team of technologists housed under the Executive Office of the President at the White House.- Detailed to the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs to stand the OIT Data Science Center of Excellence.
  • Defense Digital Service
    Digital Service Expert - Ai/Ml & Cybersecurity
    Defense Digital Service Nov 2021 - Nov 2022
    Washington, Dc, Us
    DDS is a team of technologists housed under the Office of the CDAO at the Department of Defense.
  • White House Presidential Innovation Fellows
    Entrepreneur In Residence - Ai & Cybersecurity Strategist - Its Jpo Dot
    White House Presidential Innovation Fellows Oct 2020 - Nov 2021
    Washington, Dc, Us
    Detailed to the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office at the Department of Transportation.Served as a Mentor for the NSF Convergence Accelerator with tracks related to AI For Social Good, and Quantum Technologies.
  • White House Presidential Innovation Fellows
    Presidential Innovation Fellow - Ai Innovation Lead
    White House Presidential Innovation Fellows Jan 2019 - Oct 2020
    Washington, Dc, Us
    Presidential Innovation Fellow detailed to the Office of the CTO at the US Department of Veteran Affairs.Leading the Data and AI transformation of the services we provide to our Veterans.Claims Attributes API:Role: AI Engineer & Technical Project ManagerProduct brief: The Claims Attributes API, also known as VA Smart Tool or Intelligent ClaimRouting Tool on the press, is the first AI API deployed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ituses Natural Language Understanding to analyze the information a Veteran provides in a BenefitClaim (526), infers the proper medical condition and automatically routes the claim to a specialist.Results:◦ 10 million dollars per year in recurrent saving to the Department of Veterans Affairs.◦ Reduced Veteran’s decision wait time by 5-7 days.◦ Increased claim establishment by 27x.Other responsibilities:◦ Serve as Subject Matter Expert in review panels for contracts related to Data Quality, NaturalLanguage Processing, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Fraud Waste & Abuse Investigations.◦ Coordinate and lead efforts for interagency data sharing.◦ Serve as Subject Matter Expert in Data and Artificial Intelligence for the Office of AmericanInnovation and the Office of Science & Technology Policy at the White House, the AI COP atGSA/TTS, and NASA.Awards:Special Act Award - Technology Transformation Services (TTS), General Services Administrations (GSA)
  • Microsoft
    Data & Applied Scientist Ii - Intellectual Property Protection And Solutions
    Microsoft Jul 2018 - Jan 2019
    Redmond, Washington, Us
    TL;DR: I built Machine Learning models to detect and stop fraudsters.- Designed algorithms to detect suspicious product key activations using Topological Data Analysis and Anomaly Detection based on time and geospatial data.- Reducedsecurityanalyst’smanualrevisionworkloadofmaliciousregistrationsbyan87%.- Implemented efficient string matching algorithms for database queries involving unstructured text fields likeresidential addresses.- Automated data pipelines, reducing daily analysis time from 30-45 minutes to under a minute.- Created statistical models to detect and prevent scripted intrusions.
  • Microsoft
    Data & Applied Scientist Ii - Anti-Piracy Services
    Microsoft Feb 2018 - Jun 2018
    Redmond, Washington, Us
  • Soteria - Security Consulting & Data Analytics
    Lead Data Scientist
    Soteria - Security Consulting & Data Analytics Jun 2016 - Jan 2018
    Charleston, South Carolina, Us
    Led the revamp of Soteria’s DNSense product, transitioning it from a rule-based prototype to an automated Machine Learning solution for detecting and reporting suspicious domain registrations. Spearheaded the ideation, development, and deployment of Soteria’s proprietary NLP/NLU phishing detection solution.
  • University Of Iowa
    Researcher In Quantum Topology
    University Of Iowa Aug 2012 - Apr 2016
    Iowa City, Iowa, Us
    -Published 'The Localized Skein Algebra is Frobenius' in Algebraic and Geometric Topology.-Published 'Frobenius Algebras Derived from the Kauffman Bracket Skein Algebra' in Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications.
  • University Of Iowa
    Graduate Teaching Assistant
    University Of Iowa Aug 2011 - Dec 2015
    Iowa City, Iowa, Us
    Independent Instructor (responsible for all course duties): 22M:009 Elementary Functions, Fall 2015 22M:008 College Algebra, Summer 2015 & Spring 2014 22M:125 Qualifying Exam in Topology Preparation Seminar (Graduate course), Summer 2014Teaching Assistant (led discussions, graded homework & quizzes, held office hours): 22M:133 Manifolds (Graduate course), Spring 2014 Point Set Topology (Graduate course) , Fall 2013 Calculus For The Biological Science, Spring 2015, Spring 2012 & Fall 2011Tutor: Mathematics Tutorial Lab at University of Iowa, Fall 2011 - Spring 2012, Fall 2014Grader: Linear Algebra, Fall 2015.
  • Florida State University
    Graduate Teaching Assistant
    Florida State University Aug 2010 - May 2011
    Tallahassee, Fl, Us
    Teaching Assistant (led discussions, graded homework & quizzes, held office hours): MGF1107 Math for Liberal Arts, Spring 2011 MGF1106 Math for Liberal Arts, Fall 2010
  • University Of Northern Iowa
    Research Assistant
    University Of Northern Iowa May 2010 - Jul 2010
    Cedar Falls, Iowa, Us
    Graduate Research Assistant to an R.E.U. where students worked on generalizing the Black-Scholes Model. Supervised and advised a group of 12 students.
  • University Of Northern Iowa
    Research Assistant
    University Of Northern Iowa Jan 2010 - Jun 2010
    Cedar Falls, Iowa, Us
    Worked with Arithmetic Functions derived from Modular Forms in Analytic Number Theory.
  • University Of Northern Iowa
    Tutor And Grader
    University Of Northern Iowa Aug 2009 - May 2010
    Cedar Falls, Iowa, Us
    Tutor: Mathematics Tutorial Lab at University of Northern Iowa, Fall 2009 - Spring 2010.Grader: Ordinary Differential Equations, Spring 2010. Calculus II, Spring Fall 2009. Grader for Math and Decision Making at University of Northern Iowa, Fall 2009. Grader for Calculus I at University of Northern Iowa, Fall 2009.
  • University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
    Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
    University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Jun 2003 - Jul 2009
    San Juan, Pr, Pr
    Teaching Assistant (led discussions, graded homework & quizzes, held office hours): Mate3028 Precalculus I-II Summer 2008, 2009 Mate3024 Precalculus II, Summer 2004 Mate3023 Precalculus I Summer 2003, Summer 2005Tutor: Mathematics Tutorial Lab at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, Fall 2003 - Spring 2005, Fall 2007 - Spring 2009
  • University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
    Undergraduate Researcher In Biostatistics
    University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Aug 2008 - May 2009
    San Juan, Pr, Pr
    Performed exploratory and statistical analysis in search of breast cancer biomarkers.
  • University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
    Undergraduate Researcher In Biochemistry
    University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Aug 2008 - May 2009
    San Juan, Pr, Pr
    Conducted experiments to understand how certain proteins on the brain bind to different compounds to better understand Alzheimer. Besides doing bench work I was also the analyst in charge of collecting, modeling and interpreting the data.
  • The Children'S Place
    Stock Associate
    The Children'S Place May 2008 - May 2009
    Secaucus, Nj, Us
    - Sort and process shipment- Complete floor-sets and replenish floor racks.
  • Pacsun
    Sales Associate
    Pacsun Jul 2004 - May 2009
    Anaheim, Ca, Us
    Responsibilities:- Assisted customers with their shopping needs, while making them feel welcome and acknowledge. - Sort and process shipment, and replenish the floor racks.- Completed floor-sets at our own store and on several occasions assisted with the floor-sets of new or redesign other stores.- Serve as an additional cashier during peak hours.

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. Skills

Leadership Mathematics Information Technology Scikit Learn R University Teaching Public Speaking Nlp Data Science Algorithms Cybersecurity Predictive Modeling Lean Startup Teaching Data Analysis Data Analytics Scala Mentoring Biostatistics Higher Education Hadoop Artificial Intelligence Public Policy Programming Latex Scipy Big Data Mathematical Modeling Probability Javascript C++ Qgis Numpy Flask Unsupervised Learning Databases Sql Python Cyber Research Science Software Development Machine Learning Spark Statistics Data Visualization Big Data Analytics Mapreduce Github

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. Education Details

  • University Of Iowa
    University Of Iowa
    Mathematics
  • University Of Cambridge
    University Of Cambridge
    Artificial Intelligence Ethics And Society
  • The University Of Texas At Austin
    The University Of Texas At Austin
    Artificial Intelligence
  • University Of Iowa
    University Of Iowa
    Mathematics
  • University Of Northern Iowa
    University Of Northern Iowa
    Mathematics
  • University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
    University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
    Mathematics

Frequently Asked Questions about Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.

What company does Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. work for?

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. works for U.s. Department Of Veterans Affairs

What is Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s role at the current company?

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s current role is Responsible AI Lead · White House USDS & PIF Alum · Quantum Topology · Musician/Songwriter.

What is Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s email address?

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D.'s email address is ne****@****dds.mil

What schools did Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. attend?

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. attended University Of Iowa, University Of Cambridge, The University Of Texas At Austin, University Of Iowa, University Of Northern Iowa, University Of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.

What skills is Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. known for?

Nelson A. Colón Vargas, Ph.D. has skills like Leadership, Mathematics, Information Technology, Scikit Learn, R, University Teaching, Public Speaking, Nlp, Data Science, Algorithms, Cybersecurity, Predictive Modeling.

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