When I first started learning about databases, I knew this was the area of technology I wanted to focus on. In my college years, I realized the power that data had when it comes to making an impact to a business decision. That’s what I liked about it. It’s impactful.The thing I’m most proud about in my career is the amount of change I brought to every organization that I worked at. Many had no data teams or no data professionals at all. Each time I was ready to move on, they had become very mature in their data practices, learning to value the importance of proper information management.I believe the root of my success comes from three specific areas: 1) Collaboration2) Continuous Education3) Breadth Over Depth1) Collaboration is the cornerstone for any successful, scalable program. I’ve worked with various roles from intern analysts to the C-suite, and everything in-between. Getting clear goals and outcomes communicated ensures success. Presenting strategy and direction inspires confidence.2) Technology is an area that’s constantly changing, bringing new concepts into the fold. Because of this, I’ve always been a firmer supporter of keeping skills recent. I’ve also mentored many on how to do this. For me, personally, I prefer self-pace learning like what is offered by Microsoft. Communities like PASS have also been very beneficial to me. Each time I would attend a session, I would take notes, then meet with colleagues later to discuss what was learned and how it may or may not be applicable to what we do.3) One pitfall I’ve managed to avoid is not going too deep with a specific form of technology. There are advantages to this, I agree, but I prefer to be more informed of a broader landscape. I started my technology interests with programming, but turned towards data when I found it more interesting. Still, I kept up to date with my software development foundation and that has been very useful for me. I learned all the major functions for being a highly effective DBA, but I made sure not to ignore the business intelligence and database development disciplines. Having this breadth has made me feel confident in the role of architecture, that I am making informed decisions.Specialties: Data Warehousing, Master Data Management (MDM), Business Intelligence, Azure Data Architecture