Hi, I’m Erika Dunn—a data scientist, experimentation strategist, and unapologetic advocate for evidence-based decision making. With a background spanning experimental psychology, recruiting science, customer experience, and marketing analytics, I’ve spent the last decade turning business questions into testable hypotheses—and transforming those tests into lasting strategy.

I currently lead a centralized data science team at Principal Financial Group, where I developed an Experimentation Center of Excellence and helped pioneer the use of synthetic audiences to test marketing campaigns in safer, smarter ways. My work blends AI modeling, segmentation, and rigorous statistical methods to design experiments that don’t just run—they reveal.

I believe the best insights live where data meets curiosity—and that empathy, creativity, and a bit of irreverence (see: Chief Avocado) are essential tools for any analytics leader.

What I Do

• Design experimentation frameworks for marketing, CX, and product teams
• Model synthetic audiences to test ideas without overexposing customers
• Link customer behavior to financial outcomes with statistical modeling
• Coach data teams on hypothesis-driven thinking and rigorous testing

Why “Uncanny Analytics”?

Because the most powerful insights don’t always feel comfortable. The uncanny moment is when your assumptions dissolve and the data tells you something unexpected—that’s where growth begins.

More About Me

Before Principal, I held analytics and research roles at H&R Block and Amazon, helping teams build attribution models, define KPIs, and design meaningful tests in high-volume environments. My academic background is in experimental psychology, and I still geek out about measurement theory, psychometrics, and behavioral design.

Uncanny Analytics is where I share my work, my tools, and my point of view. You’ll find long-form writing, open-source code, and satirical comics from Chief Avocado—my cartoon alter ego for all things absurd in the world of corporate experimentation.

See what I offer → | Get in touch →