PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Mara Averick

Also known as dataandme

Mara Averick is a developer advocate who works on how open-source communities welcome newcomers and, in 2026, wrote about how AI is changing that. She earned a B.A. in Science and Technology Studies at Brown University and joined RStudio as its tidyverse developer advocate in November 2017. In 2018, she gave an invited presentation on sustainable communities at the NeurIPS workshop on Machine Learning Open Source Software, and in 2019 she co-authored "Welcome to the Tidyverse" and "Ten simple rules for helping newcomers become contributors to open projects." Her 2026 stdlib blog posts cover AI and the invisible newcomer in open source and AI-use policies for maintainers and contributors. She is a senior developer advocate at Quansight and contributor experience lead for stdlib.

Now at
Quansight and stdlib
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Links
LinkedIn

Timeline

  1. By 2017

    Science and technology studies at Brown

    In high school, she uses R for fantasy basketball, and she graduates in 2003. She holds a B.A. in Science and Technology Studies from Brown University.

  2. 2017

    Joining RStudio as tidyverse advocate

    In 2017, she gives a talk for the Metis "Demystifying Data Science" online conference on how she curates and discusses data science online, and works with TCB Analytics. She joins RStudio as its tidyverse developer advocate in November 2017.

  3. 2018

    Talks at rstudio::conf and NeurIPS

    At rstudio::conf 2018, she presents "Phrasing: Communicating data science through tweets, gifs, and classic misdirection" and "Contributing to Tidyverse packages." At NeurIPS 2018, she gives an invited presentation on sustainable communities at the Machine Learning Open Source Software workshop.

  4. 2019

    Welcome to the Tidyverse

    In 2019, she is one of the authors of "Welcome to the Tidyverse" in the Journal of Open Source Software, with Hadley Wickham, Jennifer Bryan and other co-authors. She also co-authors "Ten simple rules for helping newcomers become contributors to open projects" in PLOS Computational Biology, with Dan Sholler, Igor Steinmacher, Denae Ford, Mike Hoye and Greg Wilson.

  5. 2021

    Accessible charts with highcharter

    She completes a five-part series on using the Highcharts accessibility module with the {highcharter} R package. The final installment, published in November 2021, re-creates an area chart with many annotations.

  6. June 2026–August 2026

    Writing on AI and open source

    In June 2026, she publishes "What We're No Longer Seeing: AI and the Invisible Newcomer in Open Source" on the stdlib blog, about how AI is absorbing the visible friction that open-source communities have relied on to see and welcome newcomers. In August 2026, she publishes "Your AI Policy Doesn't Have to Apply to You," which separates the situation of a maintainer using AI from that of a first-time contributor using AI.

  7. As of October 2026

    Senior developer advocate at Quansight

    She is a senior developer advocate at Quansight and contributor experience lead for stdlib. In October 2026, she gives the talk "The unnecessary places" at the Openscapes Community Call "Open Communities in the Age of AI," on the impact of AI on open communities and the people in them.

Career

  1. NowQuansightSenior developer advocate
  2. NowstdlibContributor experience lead
  3. From 2017RStudioTidyverse developer advocate

Education

  1. 2003Brown UniversityB.A.

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Brown University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Brown University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Brown University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Brown University. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Mara Averick yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. rOpenSci | .rprofile: Mara Averick ropensci.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Mara Averick, Research/Data Analyst | EDAC edacweb.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Mara Averick Presents for Metis' "Demystifying Data Science" Online Conference - TCB Analytics tcbanalytics.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Mara Averick - RStudio cloud.rstudio.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. MLOSS 2018: Sustainable communities | dataand.me dataand.me. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Journal of Open Source Software: Welcome to the Tidyverse joss.theoj.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Ten simple rules for helping newcomers become contributors to open projects | PLOS Computational Biology journals.plos.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. {highcharter} and the accessibility module: Part 5 | dataand.me dataand.me. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. What We're No Longer Seeing: AI and the Invisible Newcomer in Open Source blog.stdlib.io. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Your AI Policy Doesn't Have to Apply to You blog.stdlib.io. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. Mara Averick - Numerical Bits blog.stdlib.io. Checked 21 October 2026.
  12. rOpenSci | Open Communities in the age of AI ropensci.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  13. The unnecessary places — Openscapes Community Call | dataand.me dataand.me. Checked 21 October 2026.