Backporch
About

About Tanner Brown

I work the full arc of data — from the raw pipeline to the decision it informs, adapting to whatever the problem needs. In practice that means reasoning carefully about deciding under uncertainty, then embedding in your environment to build what makes the decision stick. I've seen what good data work does for a team, and I build Backporch so that experience is calm, rigorous, and empowering. The beliefs underneath it are a short credo.

Data science · decisions under uncertainty · end-to-end delivery · thought leadership. A Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma with a documentation habit that borders on devotion — the work only matters if your team can carry it forward without me.
Backporch is currently a studio of one — designed, built, and run entirely by Tanner Brown.

Technical skills

Python
pandasNumPyscikit-learnSciPystatsmodelsSymPyMatplotlibPlotly
SQL
CTEs (incl. recursive)window functionsjoins & set opsaggregation & GROUP BYsubqueriesviews & stored proceduresindexing & query tuning

The core stack — the libraries and SQL patterns I reach for daily. Everything else, by confidence:

Fluent
PythonSQLPower BI / DAXExcel / Power QueryETL & data pipelinesGit / GitHubDocumentation
Intermediate
RGoogle Cloud PlatformAI architecture & agentsPrompt & workflow designLinuxShell / zsh automationCode reviewGudhi (TDA)Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC, Kaizen)
Competent
JavaScriptHTMLAWSSASAnaplanWeb dev — this site (Next.js · React · Node.js)Operations research & optimization (LP/IP · simplex)Unit & production testingDockeruv / Poetry (venvs)C / C++ / C#Java
Novice
MakefilesBuild & deploy (Vercel · Docker)DevOps · CI/CDGurobi (gurobipy)Lean (Mathlib4)SageMathCSSFigma (wireframing)Local models (Ollama)Interactive math viz (KaTeX / SVG)

Honest tiers, not a wish list. Strongest in the data-to-decision stack; the web and AI-workflow skills are newer — built hands-on across these projects and my research practice. Day-to-day it's a Linux/zsh, terminal-first setup (a heavily scripted shell, Makefiles, git). Always learning in the open — shaped by StatQuest (Josh Starmer) and ArjanCodes, among others.

Patterns → the same idea written idiomatically in Python, C, C++, and C#.

CliftonStrengths

Strategic Thinking
LearnerIdeationInputIntellectionStrategicAnalyticalFuturistic
Executing
AchieverResponsibilityBeliefArrangerFocus
Relationship Building
RelatorConnectednessDeveloperAdaptabilityEmpathy
Influencing
CompetitionSelf-AssuranceMaximizer

The profile leads with Strategic Thinking — analytical, futuristic, endlessly drawn to input and ideas — then the Executing that turns it into finished work, anchored by belief, focus, and responsibility. The relationship side runs deeper than people expect: a developer and empath, most at home building trust one connection at a time, and competitive against the problem more than the person. A silent leader — the deep processing happens before the decision. Off the clock: philosophy, mathematics, statistics, and yoga.

Research interests

  • Decision-making under uncertainty, end to end
  • Topological data analysis & information theory
  • Electronic medical record (EMR / EHR) data analysis
  • Garment thermal comfort (published research)
  • Law & AI
  • Operations research & optimization algorithms
  • Lean Six Sigma applied to data systems (Kaizen for information)
  • Making analytics calm, legible, and humane

Industries I've worked in

High-tech & electronicsRetailPrecision manufacturingInsuranceHigher education & public sectorResearch & academia

I'm comfortable offering almost anything from this skill set — and glad to learn more. What I've delivered, in brief:

Outcomes framed as case-study themes live on Work →.

Education

Accelerated M.S., Applied Statistics & Analytics — 3.96/4.00Central Michigan University · May 2021
B.S., Statistics — Summa Cum Laude, 3.96/4.00Central Michigan University · May 2020
Best Graduating Undergraduate AwardApril 2020
Cleon Richtmeyer Scholarship for MathematicsApril 2019

Certifications & awards

Publications

Golden, J., Brown, T., Domina, T., Wroblewski, S., & Kumphai, P. (2021). Utilization of an infant sweating thermal manikin to determine clo values for infant clothing: a comparison of predictive formulas.

International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 14(3), 272–283

Experience

Data AnalystOct 2024 – Mar 2026
Bay de Noc Community College — Escanaba, MI
Senior Analyst — Industry & Functional AI Decision SciencesDec 2023 – Jul 2024
Accenture
Senior Analyst — Data SciencesOct 2021 – Dec 2023
Accenture — San Francisco, CA
Graduate Research AssistantJan 2020 – May 2021
Central Michigan University — Mount Pleasant, MI
Predictive Modeler InternJun 2020 – Aug 2020
Auto-Owners Insurance — Lansing, MI
Engineering & Analytics Intern (two summers)Mar 2018 – Aug 2019
Engineered Machined Products — Escanaba, MI
Why this work. The best analytics doesn't dazzle — it quietly gives a person the confidence to make a better call. That's the whole job: empower decision-makers with data to do the right thing, and document it so the capability stays.

Want to talk? hello@backporch.studio — or find me on GitHub, LinkedIn, and Upwork.