I am excited to be an advisor to early-state EdTech startup, REACH Pathways. REACH is building AI-based technology for college and career pathways for high-performing under-resourced students (HiPURS) at the nexus of companies and communities. Less like homework and more like a video game, REACH rewards students for interacting with mentors, accessing bite-size career content, and completing real life tasks in a vibrant virtual community.

2024 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Career Solution of the Year | 2024 EdTech Digest Startup Leadership Finalist | 2023 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Career Readiness Platform of the Year | 2023 University of Chicago Alumni New Venture Challenge 2nd Place AwardArcher Career brings career and professional development programs to the best talent in the universe. We collaborate with organizations and higher education to build #microlearning-based programs, focused on leadership, business acumen, job search, funding, and career wellness. We educate and empower individuals to drive social and economic progress.Pew Research found that 40% of graduates work in jobs not requiring a college degree. NACE studies reveal that students who use career office resources achieve better job placement outcomes and earn an average of $25,000 more per year in their early careers. Despite the benefits, less than 20% of students now engage with career offices, with the pandemic worsening this trend. Archer Checklist is: Mobile first, micro-learning, delivering career programs. It is easy to use, with automation to drive student engagement and help career advisors/staff be more efficient to administer, facilitate, monitor, and report on programs.---As CEO, I lead our team building, go-to-market strategy, and content strategy. I spend a significant amount of my time talking to early career talent (students and working professionals) to understand challenges, I engage with career office leaders from high school to graduate school, and create thought leadership on career advancement. Our team translates this into products and career programs. To stay close to our customers, I am regularly engaged as a keynote speaker, guest lecturer, and interviewed on topics of EdTech, career education, job search skills, and the future of work. I also do some career coaching focusing on career focus, resume development, interview preparation, and consulting, tech, and product management careers.

I have coached 500 individuals over 15 years, impacted $30M compensation growth for new roles and promotion. I developed first ever group coaching program tailored to working MBAs focused on top tier consulting/tech roles; applied best practices and personal job search experience, and integrated student feedback; increased offer rate to 40% (from 20%) over 5 yrs. I regularly speak and give invited talks on in high impact leadership topics; recent events include Rice Women’s Conference, Graduate Career Consortium, and Amazon Women’s ERG; presented to 200+ participants and posted to blog, social media, and Archer Advance Community.

I am excited to return to the classroom with DePaul to teach in the Management and Entrepreneurship department. Course: Consulting Skills in the Graduate Program. I am delighted to lead this experiential learning course and leverage my 20+ year consulting career and as a client for many years as well!

I am incredibly honored to be part of the 38th cohort in Chicago, with 40 small business owners. I'm honing my skills in leadership, marketing, and financial management. This executive training and mentorship program allows me to drive strategic initiatives that foster small business growth, economic development, and job creation in the community. The mantra "Dream Big" is exciting and spoken with confidence by faculty, business advisors, and my fellow scholars.

A recent podcast: Have you Lost Your Professional Mojo (https://forbescouncils.com/podcast/have-you-lost-your-professional-mojo/)

As a career advisor for Chicago Booth's MBA program, I played a pivotal role in shaping the professional future of 1,200 full-time and 1,200 part-time MBA students, executive MBAs and alumni. I leveraged my industry experience in management consulting and technology, to provide a deep understanding of student career needs and market dynamics to create and deliver large-scale programming and individual coaching. I served as the primary liaison to the Management Consulting Group (Booth's largest student group) and presented at their first-year consulting forum for two consecutive years. I transformed an all-day interview workshop and introduced innovative support for non-traditional MBA careers. I also engaged in crisis management and support to Career Services leadership during the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 when student offers were deferred and rescinded, working with numerous internal stakeholders and managing employer relationships.

As an Engagement Manager, I specialized in strategic consulting and recruiting, addressing complex challenges like workforce optimization, strategic outsourcing, and organizational redesign.I led a team of over 25 in devising strategies to mitigate external business impacts, delivering an analysis to the CEO and senior management that transformed their approach to change management risks. Additionally, I directed a volunteer management program for Chicago 2016, recruiting and mobilizing 2,000 volunteers for a major sports event.Beyond client projects, I was involved in consultant assessments, mentored professionals, and contributed to MBA recruitment at top-tier universities such as the University of Chicago, Kellogg, and Columbia. My efforts in these areas underscore my commitment to developing future industry leaders.

I had a multifaceted role that encompassed five areas: (1) Chief of Staff to practice leader, (2) CFO for practice, (3) head of Thought Leadership Center (practice shared service function), (4) leader for talent management, and (5) client engagement manager.As Chief of Staff, I advised the practice leader and managing directors on strategic and operational matters. I upgraded financial processes, streamlined forecasting, and participated in firm leadership review meetings. I also managed a team of 5-10 consultants to support business development, research, diagnostics, cases, and sourcing negotiations. In addition, I directed the hiring, training, staffing, and performance reviews of over 30 consultants, including promotion decisions.I sold a new engagement with $1M in monthly revenue to extend work for Huron's largest client, a global airline, focused on financial and operational restructuring for a cost area valued at $750 million. I also secured an incremental project to reduce costs for several G&A areas on a contingency basis.

I advised senior leadership team on financial return assessment for new products, long-term growth strategies, and M&A. A critical initiative was creating a Five Year Plan with first-ever driver-based view. I gained consensus with top 20 global executives and supported NAVTEQ's investor roadshow and IPO. Further, I directed financial planning and analysis for nine global divisions with annual budgets of $140M, managed team of 6. A project with an immediate tangle impact was defining the strategy, implementing, and facilitating a bi-monthly CEO/CFO review for prioritization process of $80M product development project portfolio, aligned priorities, and reduced expenditures 10%.My original role when I joined NAVTEQ (pre-IPO, pre-NOKIA) involved creation of a new-to-organization finance function (NA Sales Finance): I restructured the team (terminated 2 employees, hired 2 new staff and 2 MBA interns). I transitioned to new role and hired 2 additional team members. At the request of HR, I created "Finance For Non-Financial Managers" training and delivered two sessions to global staff.

I advised $300M-$7B global organizations in diverse industries including retail, industrial equipment manufacturing, industrial chemicals, public transportation, and professional services. As a new hire, I was selected for internal M&A project, participated in due diligence, merger announcement, and post-merger integration. For a major entertainment retailer facing technology disruption, I restructured client financial model for $50M business transformation project. I am particularly proud to be a founding member of public sector practice and key team member for business development to secure first client. For this organization, a leading public transportation agency, I led a new fare payment product launch for 2nd largest U.S. public transit authority. I was honored to receive a written client commendation for my leadership and teamwork. At this client, I secured incremental project work of $500K for a new project area. For my efforts, I was promoted to manager and ranked in top 10% of consultants at my level.I saw opportunities to augment our targeted MBA recruiting. I initiated and led recruiting efforts for part-time MBAs at Chicago and Kellogg, and was a regular member of MBA recruiting teams for Chicago, Kellogg, and Michigan. I participated in onboarding and consultant training. At the request of our professional development team, I created two high demand presentation courses and case study used for the new consultant training simulation.

Finance Project Manager – Long Distance International FinanceFinancial Management Development Program (selected top 1% of Finance Associates)Sr. Auditor/Auditor – Corporate Audit Services (Sprint’s Internal Audit function)Immediately after college, I joined Sprint and experienced its Internal Audit function transformation, moving from compliance reviews to operational assessments. I was part of the team that executed the first ever operational audit, focused on $2B cost area/strategic operation; presented finding to corporate CFO. I was promoted to Sr. Auditor, and then, selected as top 1% of finance associates to Financial Management Development Program, with rotations in Corporate Accounting, Long Distance Latino Marketing Finance, and Supply Chain Re-engineering Project. A key projects included: 1) creating a microeconomic analysis for $150M investment in trans-oceanic cables, 2) evaluating a pilot operation for a bundled wireline/wireless offering, and 3) assessing sales/marketing efforts focused on international calling plans.I was a recurring participant in Finance organization on-campus recruiting including showcase in promotional video; conducted various onboarding and staff training efforts.