Leila Character (previously Donn) has over 14 years’ experience implementing innovative and grounded machine learning and geospatial approaches to hard problems in the fields of military planning and decision-making, human-machine teaming, and environmental science.

She is currently a Ph.D. candidate (PhD expected June 2022) in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also received a M.A. Leila also has a B.S. in Geology from Sewanee: The University of the South. Before returning to graduate school, Leila worked for five years as a geologist at an exploration-phase mine in northern Alaska, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico as a mudlogger for Baker Hughes, as an environmental geologist for ARCADIS, and as an environmental specialist for the State of Tennessee.

At Third Insight Leila is Head of Research & Strategy, serving as Principal Investigator for multiple DOD projects. In her free time Leila enjoys rock climbing, hiking with her dog, and running.