How long have you worked for Brightspot? What brought you here?
I started in March of 2021. My career has been primarily with larger corporations, and I was looking for a smaller/mid-sized company. I was looking for a company that had less "red tape" and was more personable where you’re not just a number, but offers an environment where you can speak up and make a difference. I found what I was looking for here at Brightspot.
Can you tell me more about your role leading customer engagements? What is a typical day like for you?
I’m dedicated to our Amazon project, where we typically have 15+ projects that we manage. I start my day off going through the various JIRA boards to determine what the priorities for the day will be and communicate these priorities to the team. A lot of my mornings involve attending multiple internal stand-ups, with external customer meetings typically following in the afternoons (since most of our customers are on the West Coast). In addition, I review and update the various project plans while assessing the overall health of the projects (from both a budget and schedule perspective).
In the three years that you've been at Brightspot, you have worked on some really interesting projects. Does one stand out as most memorable?
Before joining the Amazon team, I was pulled to work on Vox Communications for the initial releases for that customer. This project stands out to me given the challenge we faced. We were managing four concurrent customers simultaneously, each with their own set of customizations and migrations on a very aggressive timeline. It was a very intense engagement, but a great experience to have early in my tenure at Brightspot as it helped me get familiar with and acclimate myself to how we operate and engage with customers.
How do you think Brightspot best benefits our customers?
Brightspot benefits our customers by the "customer first" mentality of our organization. It’s really our people that we employ that take the needed time to identify and deliver high-quality solutions. We take great pride in building relationships and trust with our customers so they view us as a valued partner. We have established strong relationships that have strengthened how our customers view Brightspot. These relationships have been made over time through on-site visits, understanding the customers use cases and delivering quality solutions on time and on budget. It’s truly an effort that spans the entire organization.
What professional skills are most important in your role and how have those skills evolved during your time at Brightspot?
From the perspective of program management/customer engagement, it's really around organization and communication. However, adaptability and flexibility are also key attributes. There are always unexpected changes that surface, whether it’s with a change in a deadline, a new requirement, new project, etc. Being organized and expecting the unexpected enables one to quickly adapt, communicate and execute. I have definitely evolved these skills during my time at Brightspot. Managing so many simultaneous projects has provided daily opportunities for me to learn, refine and modify. I constantly reflect to see how to adapt what I do in an effort to benefit the internal delivery team or external customer.
What is the best piece of career or life advice that you have ever received?
One of my first managers always told me to ask questions. Keep asking questions until you have an answer that makes sense to you and that you’re satisfied with. You may think you’re being irritating, but chances are, someone else may have a similar question but is too shy to ask. Other times asking questions may lead to identifying a better way to do something. In the end, you will have a greater understanding as to the “why” and you’ll establish yourself as a person who shows a level of rigor and colleagues will respect the level of detail you are after.
Besides the people, what is your favorite part about working at Brightspot?
Outside of the people, I’d say the culture for two main reasons. First, it's nice to be part of an organization where everyone across teams works collaboratively together for the common goal to deliver high-quality work for our customers. This can’t happen without the cross-team effort to help one another. Second, it’s rewarding to be part of an organization that is so deeply rooted with the community by offering all the mission work we do.
What are your favorite activities or hobbies to do outside of the office?
Anything sports related or anything outside. I grew up golfing a lot and love any time I can get out on the course. I have also recently picked up biking and love hitting Northern Virginia's W&OD trail. Outside of those activities, I love spending time with my family, which typically consists of watching them on the soccer field.
If you could plan your perfect three-course meal, what would it be?
I love all types of food, but if I were to pick my favorite three-course meal, I would probably start off with lobster bisque as my appetizer. Then, surf and turf with mashed potatoes as my main course. For dessert, any type of ice cream, preferably mint chocolate chip or cookie dough.
What is your favorite place to visit in your free time?
My favorite place is the golf course, which unfortunately requires a decent time commitment and thus a place I seldom get to these days. Other than that, I do enjoy hitting the W&OD trail and getting a nice bike ride in. I especially like heading out to Purcellville as I find it quite peaceful and relaxing.
