University of Miami Herbert Business School
Master of Science in Business Analytics
Coral Gables, FL
- Related Coursework: Quality Management, Supply Chain Analytics, Business Consulting Analytics, Product Management
Nefeli Zafeiri
Business Analytics, Data Strategy, Operations
MSBA at the University of Miami with a background in international business, finance, and data analytics. Passionate about translating data into actionable strategy.
Education
University of Central Oklahoma
Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business, Minor in Finance
Edmond, OK
Experience
University of Miami
Graduate Assistant
Miami, FL
- Designed and built the documentation website for Ravix, an open-source Python regression library accompanying a Springer-published textbook, responsible for design and content
- Designed and built businessregression.com, the companion site for the same Springer-published textbook, organizing dataset downloads, chapter summaries, and worked regression examples for student use
- Completed an independent directed study supporting the professor's book project (research support, edits)
- Support a professor who oversees the MSBA program with undergraduate course assistance and student guidance
- Manage communications, follow-ups, and academic tasks to keep coursework and provide operational support
University of Central Oklahoma, Athletic Department
Finance Department Assistant
Edmond, OK
- Identified budget inefficiencies that reduced unnecessary event costs and improved resource utilization
- Improved financial efficiency across athletic events by analyzing budget variances and supporting resource allocation
- Reduced budget adjustments by flagging potential issues earlier in the event planning cycle
University of Central Oklahoma
Research Assistant, National Conference Undergraduate Research
Edmond, OK
- Achieved 1st place at Oklahoma Research Day 2025 for a regression-based analysis of natural gas price behavior
- Analyzed weather and forecast datasets in Excel to quantify their influence on natural gas price movements
- Interpreted analytical findings to support financial forecasting and inform energy market decision-making
- Developed predictive models using regression and time-series techniques to identify long-term market trends
Zafeiris LTD (Beverage Distribution)
Communication Specialist | Business Operations
Athens, Greece
- Analyzed customer demand and product-mix trends to optimize inventory, shifting resources toward high-demand items and reducing low-performing SKUs
- Expanded brand visibility by 25% by assisting with promotional campaigns and community events
- Negotiated pricing and delivery terms with suppliers and customers, improving cost efficiency and partnerships
Projects
Capstone, Deloitte, Jan 2026 to May 2026
AI-Driven Wildfire Risk Monitoring
Developing an AI solution for wildfire risk monitoring and early detection in collaboration with Deloitte, translating geospatial and environmental analytics into actionable insights for real-world decision-making.
First AI Model, April 2026
Chart Reasoner, Fine-tuned Phi-3 Mini
My first published AI model: a LoRA fine-tune of Microsoft's Phi-3 Mini (4k) for chart reasoning, extracting structured insights from chart images. Trained with Unsloth + TRL and released on the Hugging Face Hub as a component of the SQL Agent stack.
Team Project, Apr 2026, Hugging Face Spaces
SQL Agent, Natural Language to SQL
A multi-model AI agent that accepts a natural-language question, generates and executes the corresponding SQL query, and returns an interactive data visualization. Three open-source LLMs were fine-tuned on a 761K-row curated dataset for SQL generation, chart reasoning, and SVG rendering, then deployed end-to-end on Hugging Face Spaces.
Big Data Analytics, Apr 2026
Coffee Shop Big Data Analytics
End-to-end big-data ML project on ~1.8M coffee-shop transactions. PySpark for ingest, cleaning, and EDA; scikit-learn + XGBoost + Optuna for modeling; SHAP for explainability. Delivered regression and classification models with clear lifts over baselines (wait time +34.8%, purchase amount +11.8%, rewards-target AUC 0.98).
Class Project, Feb 2026, Time Series
Time Series Forecasting Comparison
Compared classical forecasting models, ARIMA, ARIMAX with exogenous regressors (layoffs, quits, sales, wages), Naive, and a Hybrid OLS+ARIMA, against a 12-month moving average baseline on monthly economic data. The simple moving average produced the lowest MAPE; a useful reminder that complexity isn't always better.
Class Project, Dec 2025, Machine Learning
Customer Prediction with XGBoost and SHAP
End-to-end binary classification project predicting customer behavior. EDA and preprocessing through gradient-boosted modeling with XGBoost, then SHAP values to explain individual predictions and overall feature importance. Final deliverable was a research poster.
Personal, Aug 2025 to Oct 2025
Monthly Budget App
Multi-month personal budgeting tool in Python with categorized expense tracking (needs vs wants), savings-goal progress, and data visualizations, pie chart by category, line chart over time, seasonal patterns, plus personalized tips against the 50/30/20 budget rule.
Activities and Interests
Deloitte Scholar, DIRPA Program
Deloitte Institute for Research and Practice in Analytics
Miami, FL
- Won a scholarship in data visualization demonstrating strength in analytics and business strategy
Graduate Business Student Association
MSBA Cohort Representative
Miami, FL
- Represent the MSBA program, supporting initiatives to improve student engagement and collaboration
Varsity Tennis Team
Student-Athlete
- Awarded Top-2 line-up positions throughout college tennis career while leading a team of 6 to 12 players
- Represented the university at major regional and national NCAA tournaments, competing against top-ranked athletes
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Member
- Organized and coordinated community service initiatives supporting student-athlete welfare
- Contributed to enhancements of Athletic Department programs for student-athletes
International Children Games, Taipei, Taiwan
National Tennis Team, Greece
- Represented Greece as a member of the National Tennis Team at an international multi-sport competition