Get to know 11 new coworkers through their answers to fun and goofy questions. Find out who’s from Brazil, who has 10 pets, who grows orchids, and more!
Gabriela Feitosa Rezende (Gabi) – HR Generalist
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? I was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil.
What’s in your perfect meal? I think my perfect meal is a salmon poke bowl.
What’s your favorite quote from a movie or TV series? One of my favorites: “Just keep swimming” – Finding Nemo.
Susan Holm (Sue), Subject Matter Expert – NLP
How did you get into the industry? I became enamored with NLP in 1989 while at Syracuse’s School of Info Studies (iSchool). My graduate advisor, Liz Liddy, was quite ahead of her time working on natural language understanding for narrative descriptions in insurance company claim forms.
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? I have been living in Squirrel Hill since 1991, when I came to study Computational Linguistics at CMU and work at the Center for Machine Translation (now the Language Technologies Institute). After all this time, I still don’t consider myself a local – although I am proficient in Pittsburghese.
Do you have any kids? Any pets? My three language acquisition modules (kids) are currently in beta release – Leo is fighting wildfires out West; Tobias is taking a year off from Pitt CS to teach English at a high school in France; and Claire is a freshman at the University of Vermont studying Environmental Sciences (and hiking). Sven, my “problem child,” attends Golden Bone doggie daycare and loves to hunt critters.
Brian Collins (BC), Product Manager – HoF
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? PGH native, but I have lived on all sides of the rivers!
What’s your favorite quote from a movie or TV series? “Strikes and gutters, ups and downs.” The Dude.
Do you have an unusual talent or hobby? I play ice hockey a few nights a week. I play goalie and defense, so if you see me limping around the hall, I probably took a puck somewhere I wish I hadn’t.
Joanne Tudor, Product Analyst – hcOS
How did you get into the industry? I got into the industry by having people giving me old computers to repair. From there, I progressed into tech support and eventually into product analysis.
Do you have any kids? Any pets? I have 10 pets, 8 cats and 2 dogs.
If any musician or band could give you a personal concert, who would it be? Fleetwood Mac.
Tong Zhao, Data Analyst – NLP
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? My hometown is located at the east coast of China, a city called Qing Dao. You might have tried our beer without realizing it. It’s the ONLY Chinese beer you can find in Chinese restaurants in the states. And we’re quite proud about that! If you are interested, you can find them at your nearby Giant Eagle!
If any musician or band could give you a personal concert, who would it be? Yaeji! I’m currently so into her music (definitely not because my friends said we look alike!)
Jinghua Ou, Software Engineer – Tech Lead/MyUPMC
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? No, I am not a Pittsburgh local, but I’ve been living in the Pittsburgh area for 20 years. I am from Guangzhou, China, a place where it never snows.
Do you have an unusual talent or hobby? Not unusual, but I started to grow orchids in 2016. I have been quite successful in getting different kinds of orchids to rebloom. I don’t spend much on orchids because I only buy orchids that are not in bloom, usually between $3 and $5. The best part of growing orchids is the waiting. Just be patient and flowers will come. I joined the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania to learn more about orchids and later volunteered to be the webmaster of the society.
Iman Mirrezaei, Senior Software Engineer –NLP
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. I moved to the beautiful Chicago (particularly in summer and not in winter) to begin my PhD in CS at the University of Illinois. I was in Chicago for about six years, then I moved to Pittsburgh in 2017 to start my new career.
What’s in your perfect meal? I am a kabob lover, especially Persian kabobs (Koobide, Barg, Chenjeh, and Joojeh).
Drew Hoffman, Software Engineer – AI-powered Apps
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? I grew up in a small farming community outside of Philadelphia. It has roads like “Cowpath Road,” and my ex-girlfriend’s brother once set fire to a cornfield. Over the years, suburban sprawl has taken over, and the cornfields became housing developments full of McMansions. In many ways, I no longer recognize the town I grew up in. When I graduated from Pitt, I chose to stay in Pittsburgh.
Do you have any kids? Any pets? My wife Chelsea and I have two little girls, Olivia and Isabella, a cat Charsi, a puppy named Zoey, and two fish tanks. For a time, we also had a woodpecker who would eat our house’s siding for us.
Free space: Share any fun fact! I try to go “analog” when possible because there are entirely too many LED screens in my life. When I’m home, my favorite place is my back patio with a paper book or a notebook to doodle on.
Mike Masucci, Product Analyst – NLP
Do you have any kids? Any pets? I have three kids: Isabella (10), Rocco (5) and Angelina (3). I also have one cat (Tiny) and two guinea pigs (Twix and Snickers).
Do you have an unusual talent or hobby? I’m an avid boxing fan, which unfortunately is pretty unusual these days. If you share this passion, I’d love to chat about it. There are very few of us left. Disclaimer: I do not follow MMA.
Goldie Segol, Data Analyst – NLP
Do you have any kids? Any pets? I have a cat named Gracie.
Where in the universe would you like to visit someday? Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan.
If any musician or band could give you a personal concert, who would it be? Regina Spektor.
Free space: Share any fun fact! I speak French and Hebrew!
Chad Dehmer, Senior Manager – Business Development
Are you a Pittsburgh local or did you grow up elsewhere? I’m from the frozen tundra of Minnesota. Came to Pittsburgh nine years ago to do a training program at UPMC.
Do you have any kids? Any pets? One daughter, nine months old in June. No pets…allergies.
What makes you a geek (if you consider yourself one)? I’m geeking out on Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History right now, “Blueprint for Armageddon.” If anyone wants to chat about World War 1, I’m interested.
