Diamond (Williams) Nwankwo is a St. Louis native whose passion for engineering was sparked at age 14 when she worked for St. Louis Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (Y.E.S) program.There, she spent four years teaching science-based topics to elementary students and getting hands-on experience with engineering projects—formative experiences that set the stage for her future career.

She went on to earn a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology and an M.S. in Quality Management from Eastern Michigan University, where she published Data Quality Management in Industry 4.0: A Study through American Society of Quality Software Professionals Journal.

Diamond’s professional background includes leading large-scale data engineering initiatives, championing process improvement, quality assurance and control. Today, Diamond is 1 of the 6 Americans selected to be an 2023 Emerging Technology Fellow at xD/US Census. In this two-year fellowship, she focuses on enterprise-wide database modernization, AI governance, operationalizing NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework, and managing project health and risk portfolios. She also is an Adjunct Instructor for Maryville University’s Data Analytics Graduate Program designing and teaching courses on data analytics and data management.

Diamond holds the following certifications; 3x Azure Certified, SAFe Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner, ISO 8000 Master Data Quality Manager, IAQG-sanctioned Aerospace Auditor Transition Training, Quality Management Systems Auditor, AS 9100/ ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Outside of work Diamond spends her time with her husband and daughter. She continues to be driven by a passion for innovation, quality, and education, striving to make a lasting impact at the nexus of data governance, AI risk management, and organizational excellence.