Westat @ JSM 2026: Improving Lives by Advancing Society

Westat staff will be attending and presenting at the 2026 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM 2026) in Boston, Massachusetts, August 1–6. The meetings, which are hosted by the American Statistical Association (ASA) in partnership with more than 10 worldwide statistical organizations, offer a unique opportunity for statisticians and data scientists across industry, academia, and government to share information and collaborate. This year’s theme is Communities in Action: Advancing Society.

Westat experts are presenting on timely topics, including the use of AI in research, quantum computing, developing alternative sources of data, and communicating survey data and statistics to the public. The full list of Westat presentations follows.

Sponsored Events

Westat is proud to be a gold sponsor of JSM 2026. Stop by the Spotlight Kick-Off on Sunday afternoon for a break, or join us at the Coffee House on Tuesday to kick-start your morning. Additionally, we will be sponsoring the New Fellows Reception.

• JSM Spotlight Kick-Off, Sunday, August 2, from 1:00 to 1:30 pm
• JSM Spotlight: Coffee House, Tuesday, August 4, from 10:00 to 10:30 am
• ASA New Fellows Reception

ASA President’s Address

Jeri Mulrow, MS, former Westat Vice President and Sector Lead for Data Solutions, is the 2026 ASA President and will be delivering the President’s Address on Tuesday, August 4, at 8 pm. Her talk, “Where Personal Purpose Meets Collective Action: ASA’s Vision Forward,” will explore the vision of ASA’s Communities in Action initiative and focus on how data and statistical thinking drive discovery and inform decisions.

Leading the Way

Westat experts participate in ASA activities year-round, with many currently holding positions within the organization, including:

Elizabeth Eisenhauer

• ASA Committee on Career Development, Vice Chair
• History of Statistics Special Interest Group, Program Chair-Elect

Laura Gamble

• ASA Outreach Committee for the International Conference on Health Policy Statistics, member

Daifeng Han

• ASA Communities in Action Presidential Initiative Task ForceSurvey Research Methods Section, Treasurer and Education Officer
• Washington Statistical Society, Communication Officer and Representative at Large

Tom Krenzke

• ASA Council of Chapters Governing Board, Chair
• Washington Statistical Society Fellows Committee, member

Amy Lin

• Government Statistics Section, Chair-Elect

Liz Mannshardt

• Katherine L. Wallman Award Committee, member
• Government Statistics Section Fellows Committee, member
• JSM Policy Committee, member

Minsun Riddles

• ASA Privacy and Confidentiality Interest Group, Secretary
• Privacy and Public Policy Conference Planning Committee, member

Presentations

Westat experts are presenting in technical sessions on topics such as data quality and privacy, addressing survey costs, and incorporating AI tools for innovation, as well as participating in panels on leadership and communication tools. Following are details on these presentations (Westat staff in bold):

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2

2:00–3:50 pm

Panel: Leadership in Our Communities: Advancing Society. Liz Mannshardt and Daifeng Han (Panelists).

4:00–5:50 pm

Panel: Connecting for Impact: Social Media, Coffee Chats, and Beyond. Elizabeth Eisenhauer (Panelist).

Panel: Survey Research and Education in the Age of AI. Brad Edwards (Panelist).

MONDAY, AUGUST 3

8:30–10:20 am

Session: From Mechanisms to Community Indicators: Measurement, Data Integration, and Calibration.

Presentation: AI-Driven Environmental Scanning for Education Policy and Practice. Atsushi Miyaoka and Gizem Korkmaz.

Session: Sampling, Weighting, Missing Data, and Variance Estimation.

Presentation: Sampling and Weighting Strategies for Nonprobability Survey and Serology Data From Blood Donors. Laura Gamble, Elizabeth Eisenhauer, Andreea Erciulescu, Rebecca Fink, Sarah Smith-Jeffcoat, Jefferson Jones, Bryan Spencer, Eduard Grebe, Mars Stone, and Michael Busch.

10:30 am–12:20 pm

Panel: Sustainable AI Deployment and Opportunities for Statistical Practice. Liz Mannshardt (Chair and Moderator).

2:00–3:50 pm

Session: Advancing Privacy and Usability: Applications for Data-Informed Decision-Making in Society.

Balancing Privacy and Utility: Evaluating Disclosure Risk and Utility Metrics in Synthetic Health Data. Minsun Riddles.

Session: Data Collection, Field Effort, Screening, and Survey Costs.

Too Costly to Screen for Children? How Variables Appended to Address-Based Frames Could Help. Sipeng Wang and Daifeng Han.

Reaching Racial and Ethnic Minorities in an Address-Based Sample: How Much Efficiency Can We Gain?Amy Lin, Daifeng Han, Xiaoshu Zhu, and J. Michael Brick.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4

8:30–10:20 am

Session: Innovative Methods to Use or Develop Alternative Data Sources. Amy Lin (Chair) and Tom Krenzke (Organizer).

Presentation: Open-Source Software Indicators of Science and Engineering Activity. Gizem Korkmaz, Carol Robbins, Nick Askew, Rashi Saluja, Jeremy Corry, Marcelo Simas, and Jason Gallo.

Session: Statistical Methods and Case Studies in Text Analysis.

Presentation: Integrating Data Science With Qualitative Coding. Lindsay Giesen, Rashi Saluja, and Gizem Korkmaz.

10:30 am–12:20 pm

Panel: Improv and Podcasts and Blogs – Oh My! Communicating Statistics and Data Science Across Communities. Tom Krenzke (Chair) and Amy Lin (Organizer).

2:00–3:50 pm

Panel: Expanding the Statistical Horizon: Integrating AI and Digital Tools for Cross-Disciplinary Innovation. Liz Mannshardt (Panelist).

Session: Best Practices for Leveraging Nonprobability Samples. Daifeng Han (Chair) and Andreea Erciulescu (Organizer).

Presentation: Addressing Reporting Challenges for Private School Samples in NAEP by Enhancing Representativeness Through Combining Years. Tom Krenzke.

4:00 pm

Birds of a Feather Session: Teaching Model Evaluation in the Age of AI: From Predictive Performance to Responsible Use. Elizabeth Eisenhauer (Discussant).

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

8:30–10:20 am

Session: Data Integration, Disclosure Limitation, and Combined Data Approaches.

Presentation: Estimating Car Seat Misuse Rates Using Administrative Child Passenger Safety Data. Elizabeth Petraglia.

10:30 am–12:20 pm

Session: Quantum Computing IG Contributed.

Quantum Synthetic Data Generation for Structured Health Data. John Riddles, Rahul Shrivastava, Jeremy Corry, Sean Chickery, Eric Pan, Kevin Wilson, and Fatih Selekler.

Spotlight on WesLytics™

Westat JSM attendees include experts working with WesLytics, our data platform that supports rigorous, high-quality research. WesLytics combines the Databricks AI and cloud management platform with Westat’s methodological, statistical, and technical expertise. This integrated approach supports managing and analyzing data of many types, scales, and sources, while enabling efficient, adaptable solutions across the research life cycle.

Built on Databricks and Amazon Web Services (AWS), WesLytics upholds strong security and compliance requirements while transforming complex data into actionable insights. By enabling advanced analytics and uncovering meaningful patterns, WesLytics supports reliable, data-driven findings for survey research and informed analysis.