Alumni Spotlight Q&A
What are you doing now as an alum?
I have been at Daimler Truck North America for just over 5 years. I have held various analytics roles from a senior business data analyst to an AI product manager.
I recently accepted a role in the Sales organization as a District Sales Manager. After years of developing insights and revenue enhancing products it was time to get closer to our customers and dealers and further refine a different set of skills.
In addition, I volunteer for an organization called Women in Analytics. They are a global non-profit with a mission to increase visibility to the women making an impact in the analytics space and provide a platform for women to lead the conversations around the advancements of analytical research, development, and applications.
They have an annual conference called DataConnect in Columbus, Ohio, that I attended last year. After watching over 50+ women speakers on stage I knew we needed something like this in Portland.
On March 23, 2023 we had our first DataConnect West conference at Daimler Truck North America’s corporate conference center. The theme was humAn Intelligence: a world of coexistence. Each of the four individual talks and four panelists spoke around emerging trends in Artificial Intelligence. These trends didn’t only focus on the technical piece but how organizations need to adopt them to be successful.
Outside of my professional and volunteer life, I enjoy the outdoors and traveling. Typically spent with my fiancé, Josh, and dog, Harley.
Why did you choose UP Pamplin for your graduate degree?
University of Portland stood out to me as I wanted an in person experience with a technical program that was application focused.
That is when I came across the Masters of Science in Operations and Technology Management (MSOTM). The program offered flexibility that allowed me to craft my course load based off my interest and professional role.
How are you using the MBA?
The program offered courses that allowed me to build up a strong technical foundation. The courses that stand out to me include Intro to Data Science, Business Analytics, Decision Modeling and Prescriptive Analytics.
Growing my technical skillset was a strong contributor to my ability to become an Artificial Intelligence Product Manager.
I intend to carry this knowledge forward and apply it to my new role to enhance our sales organizations analytics capabilities.
What advice would you give someone considering continuing their education?
I lead with intention from a professional and personal perspective. I believe it’s important to reflect on what you have and where you want to go before continuing your education.
I always like to work backwards when career planning. Your destination can change, however, you are only as good as the information you have today.
Don’t wait too long, make a decision based off where your goals are at the moment. Then always know if those steer in a different direction you can chart a new course.
