Rachel Insler

MARKETING + DATA SCIENCE

New York City · rzinsler@gmail.com

Innovative, data-driven, customer-centric strategic leader with experience driving growth for brands across multiple industries including hospitality, wine, entertainment, tourism, and consumer products. Proven track record of leveraging data and communicating insights to deliver results for the organizations I support. Positive by nature, I take pride in building collaborative, empowered, high-performing teams that can overcome tough challenges.

Data Science Projects

Exploring Clarity & Reach in Scientific Communication

Does the use of scientific jargon affect the number of citations that a research paper will receive? Do certain topics receive greater engagement on Medium's Towards Data Science blog? For my capstone project, I explored the relationship between clarity, content, and reach in scientific communication, using topic modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and other Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques.

Kiva.org MaxApprover App

I worked with a team of data scientists on a pro bono project to develop, execute, and implement an interactive borrower screening tool designed to improve efficiency for a microfinance institution using machine learning models and NLP techniques.

Reddit NLP Classification App

Using over 100K posts from the r/books and r/writing subreddits (collected with the pushshift.io api), I developed, trained, tested, and compared several classification models using the machine learning and NLP tools in scikit-learn and NLTK. The best-performing model correctly identified the subreddit of unseen posts with 89.7% accuracy, using a Logistic Regression estimator and a Term Frequency - Inverse Document Frequency transformer.

Skills

Technical Skills
  • Languages: Python, SQL
  • Libraries: Gensim, NLTK, Matplotlib, Pandas, Seaborn, SciKit-Learn, statsmodels, spacy
  • Platforms: Git, GCP, Google Colab, Jupyter Labs, PostGreSQL, SQLite, Tableau
  • Techniques: Data Visualization, Machine Learning, NLP, Recommender Systems

Additional Expertise
  • Marketing: Brand Management, Brand Strategy, CRM, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Partnerships, Sponsorships, & Collabs
  • Management: Agency Management, Creative Process Management, Cross-Functional Project Management, Developing & Retaining Talent, Mentorship, Team Leadership
  • Research: Data Analysis & Presentation, Experimental Design

Experience

DATA SCIENCE IMMERSIVE

General Assembly
  • Updated and expanded my data analytics & customer insights capabilities in a full-time 480-hour course focused on Python programming, data modeling, and machine learning.
  • Completed five projects, including a capstone project exploring the relationship between clarity, content, and reach in scientific communication, using topic modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and other natural language processing (NLP) techniques.
    • Feb 2021 - May 2021

    Vice President of Marketing

    City Winery
  • Oversaw all B2C and B2B marketing and ecommerce functions for a unique and growing concept with diverse verticals including concerts, wineries, restaurants/bars, & private events.
  • Led & developed a team of marketers, creatives, and agency partners to plan, analyze, & execute multichannel marketing & advertising efforts in 12 locations across eight cities
    • Jan 2020 - Dec 2020

    Senior Director of Marketing

    Delaware North (Patina Restaurant Group)

    Hired as a marketing manager in 2013, I was promoted 3X during my six-year tenure at the organization.

  • Led and developed a team of marketing professionals to plan, execute, and analyze all marketing efforts for a broad portfolio of 20+ dining and lifestyle brands across multiple locations, ranging from fine dining at Lincoln Ristorante to grab-and-go and office catering at Cucina & Co. to a world-famous attraction in The Rink at Rockefeller Center.
  • Oversaw key digital marketing initiatives for PRG’s 60+ brands nationally, encompassing e-mail, CRM, website, social media, paid media, online/kiosk ordering, and e-commerce, driving growth and consistently exceeding industry-average benchmarks, including a 50% increase in revenue at The Rink during my tenure, driven largely by an 8x increase in e-commerce
    • Nov 2013 - Dec 2019

    Director of Marketing & Business Development

    Tarallucci e Vino
  • Managed all marketing efforts for a five-unit Italian restaurant, café, and catering group. Identified and developed strategic partnerships and company growth opportunities, from initial outreach through to contract negotiation, launch and execution.
    • Dec 2012 - Nov 2013

    Brand Manager

    Lot18
  • Developed and implemented innovative multi-channel brand marketing strategies for a members-only ecommerce wine startup, including digital campaigns (e.g. audience development, loyalty, & CRM), strategic partnerships, social media promotions and events; driving 20MM+ in topline revenue and 500K new members in the first year.
    • 2011 - 2012

    Founder, Primary Marketing Strategist, & Chocolatier

    Bespoke Chocolates
  • Built a brand from the ground up – from unique value proposition to visual identity to an immersive retail experience.
  • Owned and operated an award-winning artisanal chocolaterie producing handcrafted chocolates for retail, ecommerce, and wholesale
    • 2008 - 2011

    Pastry Assistant

    Union Square Hospitality Group
  • Creative development and production of desserts at Union Square Café and Union Square Events
    • 2006 - 2008

    Researcher & Lab Manager

    Stanford University Learning & Memory Lab
  • Provided critical operational and analytical support for a world-class research team.
  • Conducted original research on human memory, published in top peer-reviewed journals.

    • Representative publication: Badre D, Poldrack RA, Paré-Blagoev EJ, Insler RZ, Wagner AD. Dissociable controlled retrieval and generalized selection mechanisms in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Neuron. 2005 Sep 15;47(6):907-18

    2002 - 2004

    Education

    General Assembly

    Data Science Immersive
    2021

    Columbia University

    M.A. in Experimental Psychology
  • Research on the neural basis of distraction and working memory using fMRI.

    • Representative publication: Wager, T.D., Spicer, J., Insler, R. et al. The neural bases of distracter-resistant working memory. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 14, 90–105 (2014)

    2004 - 2006

    Brown University

    Sc.B. with Honors in Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Research on sensory integration in Alzheimer's disease.

    • Representative publication: Festa, E. K., Insler, R. Z., Salmon, D. P., Paxton, J., Hamilton, J. M., & Heindel, W. C. (2005). Neocortical Disconnectivity Disrupts Sensory Integration in Alzheimer's Disease. Neuropsychology, 19(6), 728–738

    1998 - 2002

    Personal

    • INTERESTS: Yoga, Baking, Cooking, Traveling, Wine, Reading (I founded a book club in 2009 that's still active!)
    • LANGUAGES: Conversational French, Basic Italian
    • MY CAUSE: Volunteer team captain and rider for Cycle for Survival since 2018, in support of the fight to beat rare cancers.
    • FUN FACT: Back in 2009, I opened a chocolate shop (Bespoke Chocolates) on an unpaved road with no street sign called "Extra Place" in NYC's East Village. Thus, my Plan C career in marketing was born out of necessity.
      • image of Rachel in tree pose in Israel Image of Rachel at chocolate shop and on spin bike Image of Rachel in Italy