Rasanthi Udenika Wijesinghe

****, ******* **. *. *******, MI 48823

ad1295@r.postjobfree.com ǀ 517-***-****

Professional Summary

I am currently working as a Data Analyst in the WestRock Company in Lansing, MI. With more than 12 years of wet lab as well as data analysis experience in environmental microbiology and water quality, I have changed my field to data analytics to utilize my strength of storytelling using messy datasets.

My experience includes working with large datasets, data compilation, manipulation and cleaning, data validation, data analysis and interpretation, ad hoc reporting, Power Query development, interactive dashboard development, sales forecasting, writing and reviewing reports and presenting data.

I have experience in Advance Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Alteryx, Tableau, Power Query, Power Pivot, Power BI, and Visual Basic; and databases such as HP, GoldMine, Radius, Access & Cisco.

Extraordinary ability to work with cross-functional teams.

EDUCATION

Auburn University, Auburn, AL Agronomy & Soils MS (3.78/4.00)

University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka Agriculture BS (3.11/4.00)

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSE

Yellow Belt (Six Sigma) WestRock Current

Alteryx WestRock 2023

Tableau Simplilearn.com 2020

Statistics Essential for Data Science Simplilearn.com 2020

Data Science with R Simplilearn.com 2020

The Data Scientist’s Toolbox Johns Hopkins University 2015

Business Analytics Specialization University of Pennsylvania 2015

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Data Analyst: Westrock Company, Lansing, MI 2019.02 – present

Download, manipulate and analyze large datasets and prepare daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales reports, thus the senior management can utilize those reports for data-driven decisions.

Use the statistical analysis for sales and marketing improvement for the current businesses as well as new businesses especially using customer analysis, product analysis, Agent analysis, and sales trend analysis.

Maintaining daily and weekly Inventory Reports; maintaining daily Inside Sales Reports.

Excellent experience with Excel (Pivot tables, VLookup), Alteryx workflow development, Visual Basic, Access, Power Query, Power BI, Power Pivot, PowerPoint, Word, MS SQL, and data visualization software such as Tableau.

Excellent time management and extraordinary ability to work with cross-functional teams to achieve company goals.

Excellent experience in combing complex datasets using Power queries and Alteryx workflows; ad hoc reporting; developing different types of sales & inventory reports, graphs and interactive dashboards using advanced Excel for customer analysis, product analysis, and Sales Agents analysis.

Apply statistical analysis as required for sales reports, especially for forecasting.

Preparing monthly PowerPoint presentations for the senior management for monthly sales analysis.

Excellent knowledge & experience in data verification, data validation, data scrubbing & identifying discrepancies.

Achievements:

Introduced interactive dashboards to the Sales and Customer Service Departments for sales and product analysis, trend analysis, and comparison of the current year versus previous years.

Setting up Power Queries and Power Pivot for data merging and improving the efficiency of reporting.

Developing new reports and improving existing report structures to provide essential information for the senior management by presenting data in the different dimensions: customer view, territory view, retail vs. wholesale, product categories, prior year sales comparison with current year sales, etc

Consistently met strict deadlines by adding some advanced techniques such as Alteryx workflows, macros, pivot tables, and VLookup into the reports.

Microbiologist: United States Geological Survey, Lansing, MI 2012.07-2015.10

Program development, proposal writing, budget development, study designing and project management.

Database management; data analyzing, interpreting, and presenting at scientific meetings; and writing reports and manuscripts for scientific peer-reviewed journal publications.

Worked as a manuscript reviewer for scientific journals.

Environmental data and human pathogen data (both numerical and categorical data) were analyzed for prediction model development.

Conducted various biological lab analyses and implemented USGS QA/QC principles to achieve high-quality data.

Trained less experienced employees to conduct PCR and qPCR-based research.

Managed the laboratory database, retrieve data from the USGS NWIS database, and prepared data for database upload.

Adopting from clinical studies, qPCR methods developed to detect/quantify pathogens (Campylobacter, E. coli 157:H7, Shigella, pathogenic enterococci (esp gene) Salmonella and Clostridium botulinum) in environmental matrices using qPCR.

A large project was conducted on the 22 beaches in the four Great Lakes to identify and quantify human pathogens and Clostridium botulinum pathogens in algae, sediments, and water.

Agricultural watershed samples (water, sediment and fecal) were analyzed to detect antibiotic-resistant genes.

Excellent experience in SigmaPlot, R, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Access.

Research Assistant/Associate: Dept. of Agronomy & Soils, Auburn, AL 2003.01-2012.06

●Conducted environmental microbiology research to identify and quantify pathogens in water, sediment and sewage using qPCR.

●Identified the sources of fecal contamination.

●Data analyzed, interpreted, and presented at professional meetings, wrote reports and manuscripts.

●Excellent experience in SigmaPlot, R, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and BioNumerics.

AWARDS AND HONORS

First place in the student poster competition at SWCS annual meeting, AL 2012

Ivanhoe Fellowship awarded by the Ivanhoe Foundation, CA 2005

A.L Smith award for outstanding master’s student, Auburn University 2005

Auburn University presidential fellowship for research 2004

Recognized at Gamma Sigma Delta Society of Agriculture 2004

Second place in the student poster competition at SB ASA Annual Meeting 2004

Third place in the poster competition, Environmental Institute, Auburn University 2004

Third place in poster presentation, Annual Research Forum, Auburn University 2004

PUBLICATIONS

Xue, J, Feng Y., Wijesinghe R.U. and Woods W. 2017. Using Bacteroidales genetic markers to assess fecal pollution sources in coastal waters. Water and Environment Journal.

Wijesinghe, R. U. and Feng Y. 2015. Persistence of Bacteroidales in Stream Water and Sediment Microcosms as Determined by Propidium Monoazide Assisted-Quantitative PCR. AEM Conference paper.

Wijesinghe, R. U., Oster, R. J., Haack, S. K., Fogarty, L.R., Tucker, T. R. and Riley, S. C. 2015. Spatial, Temporal and Matrix Variability of Clostridium botulinum Type E Toxin Gene (bontE) Distribution at Beaches in the Great Lakes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00098-15.

Oster, R. J., Wijesinghe R. U., Haack, S. K., Fogarty, L.R., Tucker, T. R. and Riley, S. C. 2014. Quantitative assessment of bacterial pathogens at seven Great Lakes recreational beaches. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. DOI:10.1021/es5038657.

Wijesinghe, R.U., Feng Y., Wood C.W., and Shaw J.N. 2009. Population dynamics and genetic variability of Escherichia coli in a mixed land-use watershed. 2009. Journal of Water and Health. 07: 484–496.

Wijesinghe, R.U., Feng Y., Wood C.W., and Shaw J.N. 2008. Identification of fecal contamination sources in the Catoma Creek watershed: A preliminary study. Journal of Environmental Detection. 1:18-38.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AT PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

Rasanthi Wijesinghe and Yucheng Feng. 2015. Persistence of Bacteroidales in stream water and sediment microcosms as determined by propidium monoazide assisted–quantitative PCR. The 115th General Meeting Abstracts. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC.

Rasanthi U. Wijesinghe, Sheridan Haack and Yucheng Feng. 2014. Propidium monoazide (PMA) based approach to differentiating live cell DNA from dead cell DNA in environmental samples. Great Lakes Beach Association 14th Annual Conference. Toronto, ON, Canada. Nov. 12-14, 2014.

Rasanthi U. Wijesinghe, Ryan J. Oster, Lisa R. Fogarty, Sheridan Haack, Taaja R. Tucker and Stephen Riley. 2014. Detection and quantification of Clostridium botulinum type E toxin gene (bontE) in Cladophora spp. at Great Lakes beaches. International Association for Great Lakes Research, 57th annual conference. Hamilton, ON, Canada. May 26-30, 2014.

Ryan J. Oster, Rasanthi U. Wijesinghe, Joseph W. Duris, Lisa R. Fogarty, Taaja R. Tucker and Stephen C. Riley. 2013. Quantitative Assessment of Bacterial Pathogens at Great Lakes Beaches. International Association for Great Lakes Research, 56th annual conference. West Lafayette, IN. June 2-6th, 2013.

Rasanthi U. Wijesinghe, Ryan J Oster, Joseph W. Duris and Lisa R. Fogarty. 2012. Quantitative Assessment of Bacterial Contamination on Beaches by Shigella and Campylobacter spp. The 12th annual Great Lakes Beach Association conference. Mackinac Island, MI.

Wijesinghe, R.U. and Y. Feng. 2012. Identification of Fecal Contamination Sources in Parkerson Mill Creek

at Auburn, Alabama. Annual meeting of the Soil and Water Conservation Society: Alabama, Georgia, and Florida Chapters, Eufaula, AL.

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