Chief Technology Officer at Verndale; Sitecore MVP
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started?
I am from Butler, NJ and attended Boston College, originally with a major in Psychology, but added a Computer Science major as well during my Sophomore year. Computers intrigued me and at the time some really cool CGI was debuting in movies like Toy Story. I quickly realized that wasn’t exactly an option to learn at BC, but by then I was really motivated by the challenges of the CS curriculum and decided to stick with it.
I graduated with degrees in both majors in 2000, right at the height of the internet bubble and it was a very exciting time to be going into web development. I decided that I would rather follow that career path and not go on for a higher education in Psychology.
I was hired to do classic ASP development for an organization in Watertown, MA called Primix. I ended up switching to HTML and Javascript development (which is nothing like what it is today) because I liked the idea of seeing visual results of the work I was doing. Unfortunately, about 10 months later, I was laid off along with many others in the industry, as the internet bubble burst. I was eventually able to find another opportunity with my current company, Verndale, and began working with ASP, SQL database architecture, and TSQL.
Through the years, I have grown with my organization. When I started out, Verndale had just 7 employees and now we have grown to over 170. Technically, I continued my learning with C#, .NET, integration development and architecture, and deep-diving into many platforms such as Sitecore. More importantly, I learned the softer skills of the agency life, including SDLC, delivery best practices, project management, importance of collaboration and communication, estimation and scope management, client management, change management, etc. I became a team technical leader and architect.
Six years ago I was presented with the opportunity to run our Development Departments which are comprised of Backend and Frontend Engineering as well as QA. Then, a year ago, I stepped in to fill the CTO role here, which has provided me with invaluable executive experience in the business strategy of running an agency. I feel truly blessed that I have been able to have so many different experiences, try so many roles, within a single organization, and truly witness how decisions made can play out over years and even decades.
In your academic or work career, was there ever a time that you wanted to give up? How did you overcome this and continue working towards your goal?
There have been many times in my career in this industry that have turned out to be critical decision points in time.
The first was when I decided to try out computer courses and stuck with them even though they weren’t exactly what I thought they would be, and when I found them to be so much harder than anything else I had ever studied before. Each semester there was at least one course that would make me cry. But by the end of each course, I found myself mastering it. It was almost addictive!
The second time I considered giving up on this career path is when I was let go from my first job. It was so hard to find a new opportunity, competing with thousands of other people who had so much more experience than I had. How could I possibly get noticed? It took months to finally land a couple of interviews. I even took a travel agency course thinking I might switch careers entirely. That is when I discovered my super power: tenacity and determination. I don’t quit and I thoroughly see things through, to the very end. What is the point in doing something if you aren’t going to commit to the highest quality? People appreciated and highly value reliability and delivering with high quality.
To stand out and get noticed, I learned to speak with confidence, even if I didn’t feel it. I wrote cover letters that made bold claims and trusted that I could back them up. When I took on a position at my current company, I wasn’t sure it was going to be equal to my last role. But that is another key piece of learning. Sometimes to make great strides, you have to position yourself for something bigger and better by doing a side-step or even step back. Then get yourself into a place where you can make a big splash, and leap forward.
The third time I questioned myself is when I was presented with the opportunity to move from working on projects to management of departments. I didn’t know if I could do it. I only had a little management experience, I was working remotely, and I didn’t really see myself as a leader. I never thought that I had aspirations to be a leader. But I also realized what an amazing opportunity it would be. Although it was scary to think about what might be involved in this new path, I was confident that I could figure it out and I had the right people in my organization to support me.
What is the favorite part of working in the tech industry?
I love how fast everything moves. It is such an exciting time in the industry and especially the digital world. Just when I thought it couldn’t get faster, the pandemic changed everything and pushed the fast-forward button. There is always something new and interesting to learn, there just isn’t enough time in the day for it all. I also love the interesting and insanely intelligent people I get to interact with on a day-to-day basis.
What challenges do you see for women in tech today?
The biggest challenge for women today is their own self-doubt and hesitation to ask for more, whether it be responsibility, salary, or opportunity. We believe that we need to be 100% perfect for a role, before taking it on. I think we are in a period where especially in tech, people are hyperaware of the women’s movement and enabling women. I’d like to believe that both men and women in positions of power are more aware and trying to help women get ahead. Therefore, women need to meet that half way, have confidence in themselves, and go for whatever it is that they want.
One other area that is a challenge is less about the women currently in tech, and more about the women and girls who are not yet in tech. There continues to be stereotypes and a lack of information about technology careers. Young women and girls need us to reach out and educate them on the opportunities and diversity of careers that exist for them in technology fields. This is how we pay our success forward.
Do you have any advice or tips for women looking to start their careers in tech? What do you wish you had known?
My advice is that if you feel unsupported by your colleagues and managers, move on to a different opportunity until you do feel supported. The work we do in tech is hard enough and it will be hard to get ahead without that support. I was fortunate to land at an organization that is open-minded and supportive. I know that I might not have gone as far if I didn’t have that support and the pushes that they provided.
I would also advise getting a mentor, woman or man, who can help guide you and help to open doors and give sound advice. I didn’t realize how many successful people in the tech industry had mentors that they were able to point to as contributing to their success.