Support and influence leaders and associates as they tackle complex operational effectiveness challenges. Currently deployed in the Michigan market in a highly collaborative partnership with business unit leaders and other stakeholders to enhance key market outcomes using a host of business disciplines to solve challenges, create opportunities, and implement solutions. Those disciplines include Org Change Management, quantitative/qualitative data analysis, LEAN process improvement, human centered design, consumer satisfaction, and various assessments.

Was the Customer Service New Product Development Project Manager for nine of SubZero-Wolf luxury appliances product lines. Focused on making sure a customer perspective is embedded within every step of the product build process. Introduced and delivered CX, process improvement, and Change Management best practices across the build process continuum. Change Lead for national financial services and investment management organization working on the Security and Exchange Commissions (SEC) "Regulatory Best Interest" program. The overarching objective is minimizing risk and support regulatory compliance initiatives for both the organization and 15,000 financial representatives in a heavy change environment.

With deep and broad experience as both an internal and external business consultant / advisor, I am adept at providing strategic/tactical advice to clients and stakeholders on ways to optimize their processes, communications, and change readiness. Passionate customer, employee, and strategic partner advocate; valued for ability to support these core investors as they strive to think, act, react, and communicate differently in change heavy, competitive, and often unpredictable ecosystems. Highlights of past work: BCBS of Florida (GuideWell) Change Management Center of Excellence. • Organizational Transformation. Change lead in support 2 Program Workstream Teams: Talent Acceleration and Organizational Acceleration. Developed stakeholder analysis, Change Impact and Readiness Assessments. Demonstrated required effectiveness in at switching between doing, coaching, integrating, and planning. • Change lead in Enterprise Data Transformation initiative. Developed Impact and Readiness Analysis; strategic communication plan; CLARC coaching for team leads, Sponsor coaching, Pulse surveys, collaboration building exercise with impacted teams. Relationship building with ancillary stakeholder groups. Leveraged knowledge of LEAN methodology to coach on problem definition and SIPOC for new process development. Introduced an innovative “Data Fluency / Data Democratization” model that was adopted as one of the three strategic imperatives. Business Readiness/Organizational Change Management Lead for City/County of Denver.• Supported IT transformation initiative in migration from a 25 yr. old legacy mainframe to a cloud-based system. Coached executive sponsors and project managers, created newsletter and technical status updates to fill a severe information void; conducted AKDAR surveys.

I was recruited into the IT Business Operations division to change a "shared services" model into a robust and responsive customer-centric organization. More specifically, this was done by enhancing the visibility of (validated) performance metrics/executive dashboards and creating greater visibility to the C-suite regarding how well IT was meeting the service/support needs of its 100,000 employees (in 118 hospitals) across the national enterprise -- i.e., "Voice of the Customer."A range of tactics were employed to accomplish this task including designing and implementing change management best practices; relationship development and coalition building; development of qualitative/feedback metrics; stakeholder assessment and analysis; and LEAN process mapping.Change saturation was pervasive across the entire enterprise as new hospital systems were frequently added as IT Business Operations (and virtually every other division) struggled to maintain positive KPIs and meet service delivery expectations. In the midst of all this activity, the following was accomplished: • Conducted comprehensive environmental and process assessments; evaluated maturity model positioning of key staff• Boosted sustained participation in a Voice of Customer (VoC) program from ~75% to 95% through a redesign VoC methodology; lead, engaged, mobilized and motivated multiple teams of stakeholders to accomplish goals.• Was the primary point of contact for 62 IT Site Director/Managers and regional VPs in addressing qualitative feedback on IT service delivery acquired through hospital/clinic rounding, attending leaderships staff meetings, and employee interactions – Result: performance report utilization increased to ~85% each month.• Facilitated a weekly Major Incident (MI) call for over two years with up to 35 attendees - on-site IT managers, problem management, tech services, and resolver teams.

I was brought on board Statline to direct the following tasks for more than 80 organ/tissue procurement and transplantation organizations across the US and Canada. Along with providing proprietary software that managed the entire organ donation process, Statline’s call center provides (phone-based) medical triage of potential organ/tissue donors for approx. 50% of organ procurement organizations across the US. • lead corporate communications with our contracted business partners• design/deliver customer service strategies and implemented tactics• communicate client needs / collaborated in implementing donor screening “change requests” from clients• direct client relationship management via extensive travel to business partner locations• Lead the effort to develop a marketing strategy in support of a new business line in organ transplantation support services resulting in over $1M in annual (current) revenueEven being many steps removed from the clinical aspect of organ/tissue donation, being a contributor to the organ donation process was, nonetheless, a very humbling experience. Having been in the hospital OR during both organ and tissue procurement procedures adds a level of intensity and personal accountability not often found outside of healthcare. Lessons learned regarding relationship management, change management, and the impact of external communications still provide guidance for new project work.

The Center for Tourism Research (CTR) officially opened its doors on July 1, 2003, with funding from a $1.5 million federal earmark with a mandate to provide South Dakota’s tourism industry, and the industry as a whole, with reliable research data and outreach services as the foundation upon which key strategic marketing, advertising, and economic development decisions are based. Toward that objective, I hired and directed an interdisciplinary team of staff, contracted faculty, and graduate students to produce web analytics, feasibility studies, and many other applied market research studies/surveys. My team and I worked very hard to implement a considerable cultural change for the tourism industry by validating the proposition that the use of market research data was a prudent investment when determining where visitors came from, why they came, and where the best ROI for marketing spend is. The net result: With the delivery of ~40 change initiatives to clients organizations, this approach effectively changed/replaced the “crystal-ball” approach to building market share that was quite prevalent throughout the industry.

From writing responses to federal RFPs and implementing the plan, I was intimately involved in conducting high-visibility state/federal health policy research. More specifically, project work included nationwide environmental and medical research assessments; identified operational/institutional barriers to change preventing Native Americans and Alaska Natives from enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's' Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Contract work took me from a remove village on the furthermost western shore of Alaska to the CMS national office; from urban Indian health service hospitals in four states to Native American reservations on two of the poorest counties in the US (both in South Dakota). Field work required over ~75+ policy expert interviews/assessments with state agency officials, Tribal management officials, and program directors / administrators as they provided key insight into barriers and suggestions for improvement. Subsequent conversations ensured with state agency officials and CMS program directors to review our findings. This work required a tremendous amount of empathy, data gathering, active listening, relationship-building / communication skills, and knowledge of change management practices in order to instill trust and credibility among state agency officials, Tribal government representatives, and advocacy groups.

The many projects I was involved with were all high-visibility field research (including over ~140+ policy expert interviews) in response to large Federal Health Policy Research RFPs and change initiatives. Each project was, to varying degrees, an initiative to change from current state to a new future state… with a heavy concentration on improved customer experiences and operational outcomes.The many challenges met included confronting legacy systems, entrenched perspectives and protocol, lack of leadership trust, selling a solution, ineffective communication, and even resistance from leaders fearful of the loss of autonomy/control. In contrast, so many program administrators and field staff were eager for change and welcomed assistance from an outside resource to help conduct unbiased assessments, facilitate open/honest discussions and design more effective processes. The magic sauce (in my opinion) was a combination of a structured, yet flexible approach to managing change, intentional employee engagement and participation, and clear / open communication with stakeholders – all required elements of change management best practices.I did gain considerable experience in issue research, expert interviews, and, in particular, selectively applying change management approaches to validate and support impacted staff. Each project was incredibly challenging and stressful for those involved – regardless of title or role. Even with entrenched but dysfunctional systems and/or processes, convincing impacted staff to move from the comfort of the status quo to a new changed state was never easy.

I was recruited back to BCBS after a five-year absence. My primary assignment was to develop a workers’ compensation service line given my experience in occupational medicine with Central Plains Clinic. Unfortunately, market conditions changed and that project was put on the “back burner” (in the freezer, actually!). Subsequently, as BCBS of SD transitioned from offering strictly indemnity products in a fee-for-service setting, to that of managed care, I planned, organized and directed the development and implementation of a physician credentialing program for all product lines; an activity which removed a barrier to managed care development efforts and NCQA carrier accreditation. I also assisted in designing new protocol used in “HEDIS-like” measures for mammography screenings, cervical cancer screenings, and retinal exams. This was a large change effort as HEDIS was a new concept back then and the vision of this future state met with some initial resistance by physicians. In addition, given my knowledge of legislative affairs and personal relationships/network within state government, I became the BCBS corporate liaison on the following state-level committees. The overarching goal was to provide the SD Department of Health with an “insurance perspective” on sensitive issues that needed changes to policies, processes, and communications. • Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition• Diabetes Advisory Council• Adult Immunization Coalition

As director, I was the liaison between the Clinic and regional employer groups as I marketed occupational medicine services including: pre-placement exams, ergonomic assessment of workstations, OSHA medical monitoring, workers’ compensation and injury prevention efforts. I was also OSHA certified and personally conducted hundreds of hearing exams at employer work sites. My tenure at CPC was a period of tremendous professional growth. I had a great deal of autonomy in designing how to perform my job, but the fundamental requirement was customer-facing role. I was not to be anchored to my desk; instead, I leveraged my innate curiosity, ability to listen actively, and sincere desire to actively seek out and build mutually beneficial partnerships with HR executives and safety officers to help keep a healthy workforce. Evidence of my efforts of ability to negotiate service contracts with employers resulted in a 30% increase in departmental revenue.

The following is an overview of accomplishments:Relationship development and customer experience improvement: As the Manager of Public Relations, I personally investigated and defused claims/policy grievances brought on by patients, clinic managers, contract physicians, members of clinic insurance teams, and other health care providers. My overarching goal in this position was to become a "trusted business partner" as I solicited and represented their concerns to business line owners and helped craft/upgraded processes that resulted in improved customer experiences. These attributes are core professional characteristics that remain the anchor of my current personal service delivery charter. Corporate Lobbyist: Ancillary to my other activities with BCBS, I was the corporate lobbyist during five consecutive legislative sessions (promoted to chief lobbyist my last two years). In this capacity, I represented, advanced, and protected the interests of subscribers and insured employer groups. I lobbied state dept heads, governors, senate and house leadership in both parties, and testified before countless legislative committees. Functioning in such a fast-paced, politically charged environment hardened my tenacity, patience, communication skills, application of ADKAR and persuasion tactics, appreciation/respect for different perspectives.As Managing Editor of a trade magazine published by BCBS of SD, designed, soliciting article submissions, had budgetary control, made printing arrangements, and subsequent distribution of a publication designed to reflect political and socioeconomic trends in health care. This publication filled an informational single-source need by synthesizing the often emotional and highly volition healthcare policy debates from local, regional and national perspectives.