Brooke Baker entered college aiming for medicine but found her calling in data science through an unexpected prerequisite. Her willingness to adapt led to leadership in data intelligence and lessons on balance, risk, and impact.
Brooke Baker’s Pivot: Why Saying “Yes” Changed Her Career and Her Company
Brooke Baker entered college with a clear goal: to pursue a career in the medical field. She never expected a single prerequisite class to change that plan entirely.
Finding Her Place in Tech
After realizing she wasn’t suited for anything medical, Baker planned to move into accounting. That major required her to take an Information Systems prerequisite course at BYU, and that’s when things started to click. “I really loved what I was learning,” she says. Gaining technical skills and applying them to real-world problems drew her into the world of data science.
Baker knew that changing directions wouldn’t be without risk. Moving into a field centered on technology and business felt risky, especially surrounded by students with more experience. She turned to her family and professors for advice. One professor in particular inspired her to take the leap.
In a room of 150 students, Baker approached her professor, expecting simple career advice. Instead, he knew who she was and assured her that regardless of her past experience, she had what it would take to rise to the top. That encouragement stuck.
With that advice in mind, Baker got to work and eventually landed a job as an IC data scientist, helping design fraud models and data visualizations. She loved the work and thrived in the technical space. That’s why when she was asked to change sides and go customer-facing, she was hesitant.
“It wasn’t something that I knew I wanted to do,” Baker shared. “I like to be technical.”
Accepting the role meant stepping away from what felt familiar. Saying no meant staying comfortable. Saying yes meant uncertainty — and possibility.
As she sat with her choices, she saw a gap. Customers needed someone who could explain complex data to the people using it. The company needed someone who could communicate across audiences, and deep down, she knew that was her. So, despite her hesitation, she decided to say yes.
Learning Through Listening
Her “yes” was a turning point for the company. Baker began to hear customers’ frustrations firsthand — what wasn’t working, what confused them, and what they needed most. From there, she used her data background to communicate clearly to technical teams what customers really needed. Her work helped bridge the gap between marketing and engineering, and the company began to make more meaningful progress for its customers.
Inspired by this new perspective, she wrote a business case on how the company could improve how customers use their product. The proposal gained company-wide support. Not long after, she was asked to lead the sales engineering and customer analytics teams.
As she settled into her leadership role, Baker started to realize the importance of advocating for her team. In one instance, a startup partner proposed rolling out an incomplete solution. Baker knew the consequences would fall on her team.
“I wasn’t willing to have my team take the hit,” she says.
Rather than keeping quiet, she spoke up and firmly stated her team’s needs to the company. She stood her ground, which opened the door to a solution that worked for both sides.
That ability to connect technical insight with real-world impact became a theme in Brooke’s career. Beginning as a data scientist at NeuroID, she helped develop a visualization platform and fraud models based on users’ digital body language—tools that reshaped how financial institutions assessed risk and made decisions. Her success working across teams quickly led her into leadership, where she oversaw sales engineering and customer analytics efforts supporting major financial organizations.
More recently, she led data science and data engineering teams at LiveView Technologies, working at the intersection of security, data, and innovation.
The Cost of Success
Getting to where she was wasn’t easy. Baker often found herself working up to 80 hours a week. Late nights at the computer became routine, and stepping away felt impossible. Her dedication accelerated her learning and gave her confidence, but it came at a cost. Her relationships and health were strained due to the long hours she spent working.
Looking back now, she wishes she had spent more of her time in the present.
“I would do that differently if I could go back,” she says.
That experience reshaped how she thinks about success. Whenever Baker feels like she’s working too much, she sets aside time for other important things in her life, reminding herself that her work will be there for her tomorrow.
Her Role Today
Now, Baker is a Senior Manager of Data Intelligence at Prove, a digital identity verification company headquartered in New York. She lives in Utah. Their Data Intelligence department focuses on balancing internal and external operations while using data to improve efficiency, insights, and costs. The company’s goal is to make sure every customer feels confident in working with Prove to help secure their company’s data.
“When we prove to the customer that there will be an improvement, they have confidence in making a change,” she explains.
Baker was named a finalist for the Women Tech Awards on October 3rd. 2025, recognizing her contributions to data science and her impact across the technology industry.
The Women Tech Awards honor women who are driving innovation, building transformative technologies, and shaping the future of tech at every level—from emerging leaders to senior executives. As a finalist, Baker joins a group of women recognized for advancing the industry while setting new standards for leadership and influence.
Advice for the Next Generation
Baker wants young women looking to go into tech to know that it’s okay not to have everything figured out. She changed directions more than once and discovered data science completely by chance. Her path wasn’t linear, and success wasn’t guaranteed — what mattered was her willingness to take chances. Just as her professor had once said, it’s often just a matter of time.
Kennedi Gonzalez and Alyzabeth Grover are 2025-26 SheTech Media Interns with the Women Tech Council and TechBuzz News.
Kennedi Gonzalez is a junior at Taylorsville High School with a strong interest in both the humanities and STEM. Her goal in this internship is to highlight women’s stories in ways that inform and inspire broad audiences.
Alyzabeth Grover is a junior at Taylorsville High School in the Granite School District. She is passionate about STEM and aspires to pursue a career in nursing.
SheTech Explorer Day 2026 will take place on February 24. Learn more about it here. SheTech Explorer Day is a hands-on STEM conference for high school girls, offering workshops, mentors, role models, career pathways, and collaborative tech challenges in an engaging, supportive environment.