Lena Winfree

Lena Winfree is a data scientist and co-founder of Rachel M. Winfree. She has been in the data analytics space for over 10 years, having started the company around 2016 or 2017 after standing up a data center at Meharry Medical College. Winfree previously served as faculty at Fisk University for three years, where she supported data and AI initiatives, and she has assisted Lane College with infrastructure builds through grants. Her expertise spans data infrastructure, helping organizations become AI-ready by first achieving data readiness, and she has secured over $1.5 million in grants in the last two years for her work with higher education and nonprofit clients. Winfree earned a master's degree in chemistry from Vanderbilt University and transitioned from bench science in infectious diseases and epidemiology to data science, becoming one of the first data scientists at her prior organization. She has been on the boards of WIT, NCSE, and NTC, and leads the data collaborative initiative locally in Nashville. Winfree attributes her success to persisting through rejections and pivoting until finding her strengths, and she advises young women to move forward with their passion regardless of self-doubt. She values balance for body, mind, and soul, along with family and faith.