product career timeline
2013-2016
First tech job: Certified Scrum Master at a web development agency, building webapps and marketing sites for clients in Gainesville, Florida and Atlanta, GA. I was so into the vibe - I won the Office Culture Champion award two years in a row.
I'm eternally grateful to the developers on Team Orange for everything they taught me.
We got to work on some seriously-cool software - and even won support for our hackathon project that eventually took over PlanningPoker.com.
2016-2020
After a short stint as a Product Owner at a hospitality enterprise, I was recruited to join Pivotal Labs as a consulting Product Manager. I'd never been happier!
I learned from the sharpest folks in the biz, collaborating in user-centered product discovery, research, and lean design and validation practices. Our balanced product teams followed eXtreme Programming (XP) practices to a tee, with gherkin Acceptance Criteria, Test-Driven Development (TDD) and persistent focus on Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD). Our clients were ambitious and driven to find sustainable ways to "go fast forever".
I also taught Product Management and Agile Software Development workshops and immersive courses at General Assembly Atlanta - right up until I made the move to SF in 2018.
2020-2022
I had an awesome time working with Zendesk's Platform product teams, giving our customers ways to weave their crucial business data into their Support workflows to help agents resolve tickets even faster. It was so cool to see how different product verticals across the company operated (Support, Voice, Chat, Sell) - quite a few teams, each with shared or connected goals.
When product platforms work well, they usually spider out across other product areas.
Here's me and the Support PMs learning how to make mozzarella together (virtually)! 🧀
Once the pandemic hit and I had moved to an in-house product role, I got antsy to get back out there to help clients. I joined the TopTal consulting network to begin my own freelance Product engagements (with B Lab!), and I started Product Manager and UX Design mentorship and career coaching. I love getting to nerd out about Product stuff with cool people.
2022-Present Day
I've had a wild ride the past couple years:
• I had my first-ever paid interview assignment: to prioritize a product roadmap. I was so jazzed about the product growth and onboarding role at a developer webtools startup, only to be part of layoffs 3 months later…
• I began consulting with some awesome Air Force folks I'd known back in my Pivotal Labs days. Go check out Sagely.
• I landed a full-time Product Coaching role at Kaiser Permanente, getting to work alongside some familiar ex-Pivots from ATL and SF, and learning even more cool coaching techniques from new faces. I split my time between coaching leadership and product managers within the member-focused software arm (KP Digital) and building interactive Product Model workshops for teams throughout the rest of the IT org going through a digital transformation.
Here's a cool crew of Transformation-minded folks chatting about stakeholder management.
That brings us to today: Sadly, I've been laid off for the 2nd time in a row.
But I'm not throwing in the towel yet - not even close!
Are you looking for some fresh Product perspectives at your organization?
• Maybe a new strategy, OKRs, or a roadmap?
• New Discovery or UX research?
• Healthier team dynamics and meeting facilitation?
• Better prioritization and stronger focus?
We should talk.
Let’s make it happen
Click to contact me