Celebrating Women’s History Month and the trailblazers who made Drumline possible
In 1843, a mathematician named Ada Lovelace wrote what is now recognized as the world’s first computer algorithm over a century before the first modern computer would exist. Her “Note G” described 25 arithmetic operations for computing Bernoulli numbers on Charles Babbage’s theoretical Analytical Engine. She envisioned machines that could create music, generate art, and process information in ways her contemporaries couldn’t fathom.
Ada wasn’t just ahead of her time. She was defining a future she would never see.
Today at Drumline, we work at the intersection of data, analytics, technology, and marketing. The tools we use and the problems we solve exist because generations of innovators advanced these fields long before they looked the way they do today.
As a women-owned and women-led consultancy, we’re especially mindful of the women whose work helped define these disciplines. This Women’s History Month, we’re honoring the shoulders we stand on and the women who continue to push our industry forward.
The women who helped shape this field
Florence Nightingale didn’t just tend to soldiers during the Crimean War. She used data to understand why they were dying, pioneering statistical visualization through polar area diagrams. Her work revealed that more soldiers died from preventable diseases than from combat and helped drive reforms in military sanitation and hospital conditions.
Grace Hopper, a U.S. Navy rear admiral and computer scientist, helped make programming more accessible. She created the first compiler in 1952 and played a key role in developing COBOL, one of the first standardized programming languages. At a time when many believed computers could only understand symbols and machine code, she helped prove they could work with human-readable language.
The ENIAC Six were among the programmers of the first general-purpose electronic computer. Jean Jennings Bartik, Betty Holberton, Kay McNulty, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman, and Frances Bilas Spencer developed fundamental programming techniques still used today, including subroutines, debugging methodologies, and early flowcharting. For decades, historians assumed they were models posed beside the machine in publicity photos rather than the skilled programmers who brought it to life.
Frances E. Allen pushed the boundaries of what software could do. Her research in compilers and code optimization helped make modern high-performance computing possible. In 2006, she became the first woman to receive the Turing Award, computing’s highest honor.
These pioneers didn’t just shape emerging fields; they helped build the foundation for the data-driven work many of us do today.
Built differently: the Drumline story
When Audrey Berger and Lysbet Zimmerman founded Drumline in 2021, they weren’t launching another consultancy. They were building something intentional: a women-owned firm in an industry where women hold just 29% of executive positions.
Today, Drumline’s leadership team includes many talented women across the organization. But what truly defines Drumline isn’t who sits in the room. It’s how we work together.
Our culture is grounded in three core values: Humility, Hunger, and Heart.
Humility means balancing confidence with a genuine willingness to learn. It shows up in how we own our mistakes, invite feedback, and share wins as a team rather than as individuals.
Hunger reflects our constant drive to learn and move ideas forward. It’s the curiosity and bias toward action that push us to find creative, real-world solutions to complex problems.
Heart means leading with empathy, building trust, and having the courage to engage in honest conversations so every Drummer can bring their full self to the work and know their perspective is valued.
These values aren’t just words on a wall. They guide how we hire, how we develop our people, and how we serve our clients for the long term.
The result is client relationships that span a decade and a team that genuinely believes in what we’re building.
Meet the women leading Drumline
Audrey Berger, Co-founder & CEO, has spent her career at the intersection of data and marketing. Recognized by Direct Marketing News as a Top 40 Under 40 and by AAF Dallas as a Shining Star, Audrey is fiercely committed to building a culture of collaboration and belonging.
Lysbet Zimmerman, Co-founder & Chief Analytics Officer, has been described as “a rockstar role model for women in STEM.” With experience spanning Fortune 500 client services and analytics, Lysbet fuels Drumline’s innovation through quantitative research and data science.
Ashley Mora, VP of People and Culture, is the heart behind our people-first philosophy. A two-time internal culture award winner and recipient of AAF Dallas’s 32 Under 32 recognition, Ashley transitioned into a dedicated people and culture role because we believe our team deserves that level of investment.
Dana Townsend, VP of Analytic Solutions, started as an analyst, pivoted to client strategy, and now provides strategic direction for our client partners. Dana brings a belief that math can be creative and that solutions are always findable.
Laura Tegt, VP of Analytic Solutions, brings 15+ years of experience building digital strategies for major brands. Known as a “human calculator” who excels at leading teams toward innovation, Laura even rescued her community’s daycare center, growing enrollment by 140%.
Jackie Angulo, Director of Business Intelligence, proudly embraces her “unicorn status” as a Hispanic female in data and analytics. The first in her family to graduate from college, Jackie uses her platform to inspire others while leading the BI team that delivers strategic insights for clients across industries.
Allison Marx, Director of Data & AI Enablement, is a 2025–2026 Adobe Analytics Champion and a frequent speaker at industry events. She bridges the gap between marketers, engineers, and analysts, translating technical complexity into actionable impact.
Together, these leaders represent the next chapter in a much larger story of women shaping the future of data and analytics.
Carrying the legacy forward
For generations, women have played an important role in the evolution of data, analytics, and technology, often doing groundbreaking work that only later received the recognition it deserved. Their contributions laid the foundation for the tools, practices, and disciplines many of us rely on today.
At Drumline, we recognize that what we do today builds on that legacy. We strive to create an environment where people can grow, contribute meaningfully, and help shape where the field goes next.
Career development is treated as a thoughtful, individualized process rather than an afterthought. Mentorship is part of how we work together, and diversity, equity, and inclusion are values we aim to live out in our day-to-day work as we continue supporting the next generation of leaders in our industry.
This Women’s History Month, we honor the women who came before us, celebrate the women beside us, and work to clear the path for the women who will follow.
