Dr. Omayra Ortega: The Statistics Behind "Driving While Black." Omayra Y. Ortega is an assistant professor of mathematics & statistics at Sonoma State University.  She earned her Ph.D. (2008) and an M.S. (2005) in applied mathematics and computational sciences from the University of Iowa, where she also was awarded her Masters of Public Health.  She earned a B.A. in music and in pure mathematics from Pomona College in 2001.