ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
The Tableau Student Guide was originally created by Maria Brock, a 2019–2020 Tableau Student Ambassador. She envisioned a simple, accessible resource to help Tableau newcomers, especially students, get started with confidence. In 2021, Maria passed the guide to Eric Balash, a Tableau Visionary and Tableau Public Ambassador.
The Tableau Student Guide is currently maintained by Eric, with the goal of supporting learners at every stage of their data visualization journey.
MARIA BROCK
Founder
Maria started learning Tableau in college and quickly realized how powerful it was—not just as a tool, but as a skill in high demand. After a summer internship using Tableau daily, she became a 2019–2020 Tableau Student Ambassador at George Mason University.
During her final year, she led workshops and mentored students in Tableau. After working closely with newcomers, she created the Tableau Student Guide - a one-stop resource to help beginners get started and find their footing in the Tableau community.
Maria has presented at Tableau User Groups and panels around the world and now works at ServiceNow as a Senior Data Visualization Designer supporting their Center of Excellence and Analytics Teams.
ERIC BALASH
Current Owner & Contributor
Eric Balash is a data visualization expert passionate about turning data into insights. He is a Tableau Visionary and Tableau Public Ambassador dedicated to helping others harness the power of data.
Eric is the founder of Back 2 Viz Basics, a Tableau community project designed to help newcomers build confidence in data visualization. He also hosts the Data Afterhours podcast, where he interviews industry leaders about their careers and passions beyond data.
Professionally, Eric works at Navy Federal Credit Union, delivering high-impact dashboards that drive strategic decision-making across the organization.
Outside of work, he enjoys life in the DC metro area with his wife, Olivia, and their standard poodle, Loki.