About
I’ve built and managed teams; facilitated well-run operations at a global scale; and counseled senior executives on issues affecting their organizations. I can relate with people in just about every level of organizations, and I’ve become sought after because of my knack for getting to the heart of the matter and helping people see themselves or the world around them in new ways. My life, business, and leadership successes have been characterized by personal change and adaptation to new circumstances, and they include the following:
- Before I wrapped up my time at Intellectual Ventures as Director of Business Development at the IV Lab, I served as a thought partner, program manager, and communication manager as Chief of Staff for the President/Chief Operating Officer, where I helped her and our Executive Leadership Team set the agenda for the company and achieve annual financial and operating goals. I earned that role after increasing responsibility that began with changes and improvements in one business unit’s patent acquisitions and sales operations as it grew from $0 revenue to over half a billion.
- Prior to Intellectual Ventures, I delivered ~$1.5 million in marketing and sales content projects for Advaiya, Inc. (now Indigo Slate) by coordinating Advaiya, Inc. and its clients but also multiple stakeholders within client organizations.
- I transitioned into project management after orchestrating teams of writers and editors on award-winning technical publications for Microsoft’s Windows Server and Dynamics AX.
- I landed at Microsoft during my 8 years as a 4066/0651 Small Computer Systems Specialist in the US Marine Corps Reserve, where I earned a number of awards and recognition for leadership, and shortly after I earned a Master of Technical and Scientific Communication (MTSC) degree from Miami University (OH).
Even prior to my professional career, I was riding the rails of change and leadership:
- After college, I explored a call to full-time ministry – I worked 3 summers as Recreation Director and Head Counselor at Camp Ashmere in the Berkshires (MA), and I managed youth programs and built an adult literacy program from the ground-up at First Christian Church in Beckley, WV. I also cut my teeth as a freelance writer.
- During college at Marshall University, I served as a student advocate in university disciplinary hearings, poetry editor of Et Cetera (the school literary magazine), and secretary of United Methodist Students.
- As a teenager, I led fundraising efforts to launch the Ruff-Kut Records label, a commercially unsuccessful UK hip-hop label. Yes, you read that correctly. I said, “unsuccessful,” and I include it here because I still believe you can learn a lot about what it takes to succeed by failing. The trick is to never stop experimenting.
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