We at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science celebrate Stacey Dorton upon her retirement from BIDS and UC Berkeley. After graduating from UC Berkeley in women’s studies, she returned to campus in 2015 as our first Administrative Manager while the Institute was just getting started. It is not an exaggeration to say that BIDS would not have developed into a leading data science institute without her! Upon learning of Dorton’s retirement, her colleagues and friends - both current and former UC Berkeley community members - shared heartfelt messages of appreciation with her.
This message from Saul Perlmutter, BIDS founding faculty director, to Dorton illustrates the immediate impact she had on the institute: “There are a few people who play a huge role in shaping the feel of an organization, and from your very earliest days at BIDS you were such a person. Your warm, active presence wove together people from across the campus, changing a nice space with a lot of desks and a refrigerator into a caring, engaged community.”
Dorton was a constant presence who provided numerous students, faculty, and staff with her incredible support and loyalty, while juggling the countless tasks required to grow and foster a large and diverse community and the many bureaucratic hoops at a large public University.
Karthik Ram, rOpenSci co-founder and director, remarked upon Dorton’s retirement that “There is simply no way we could have grown the project [rOpenSci], run all those events, or reached a global community of scientists without you. Your ability to navigate all the roadblocks and achieve the impossible was truly remarkable to witness. Thank you!”
A true Office Jedi to the core, also her unofficial working title, which complemented her years as a disability activist and public speaker. Orianna DeMasi, data scientist and researcher, remarked to Dorton that she was “perhaps the most dedicated employee I worked with at UC Berkeley and a wonderful influence and advocate”.
We could always find Dorton holding someone's hand through a complex campus reimbursement process, coordinating our dedicated team of undergraduate interns, and knowing and delivering on everyone's unique needs to do their best work. She is a part of BIDS DNA, and she is sorely missed.
“Words aren't enough to express my gratitude for all you did for us over these years!!! Please know that you've left a huge imprint in the lives of many with your work and heart at BIDS and DSE.” - Fernando Pérez, BIDS Faculty Director
Thank you, Stacey Dorton, for everything you've done for BIDS, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment (DSE), Jupyter and so many more!