More Than a Resume: Getting to Know Me

I wanted to create a website that served as a portfolio for my project management experience as well as provide a glimpse of who I am as a person, because let's be honest, I'm so much more than the bullet points I've listed on my resume. So, this post is for anyone who has stumbled upon my website, whether by chance or design...hello and welcome. I'm glad you're here!

The millennial in me thinks holey, distressed jeans will never go out of style!

Young Kristi

Born and raised in Colorado I was a gifted athlete growing up. No doubt, that competitive spirit still runs deep today (we've had some intense games of cribbage in my house). Basketball, soccer, softball were my favorites. Quiet and humble, I always let my play do the talking for me. Thankfully in 7th grade, I started to get recruiting letters from where I would eventually receive a full-ride basketball scholarship...The University of Iowa!

Team captain, 4-year starting point guard, one Big Ten Conference Championship, two time First-team All Big 10 selections and a few other accolades sprinkled in there. College was an absolute blast and I was a total gym rat which helped pave the way for some of my accomplishments. I had a quiet confidence about me that I think like my stature (I'm 5'5") was pretty unassuming. I may not have been the tallest, strongest or fastest, but I truly felt like I was one of the better players on the court at all times. No doubt the hours of hard-work and dedication to my craft had something to do with that. And just like my competitiveness, my work ethic is something that has stuck with me well into my professional career.

Post College

As the saying goes..."all good things must come to an end". After graduation, I wound up playing professional basketball in Iceland of all places. Beautiful country. Beautiful people. I only played one season, but for that season I was the Icelandic three-point champion. Pretty cool!

Eventually, it was time to hang up the sneakers and get a "real" job. At the time, I thought a natural transition would be to work in athletic administration. So at the ripe age of 23, I landed an Assistant Athletic Director position at a D2 college in Minnesota. Talk about a lucky break. One year out of college and here I was playing the role of an athletic administrator. One perk of the job was that the university paid for my masters in Organization Leadership...this is where I got my first intro to project management.

New Beginnings In the Twin Cities

I quickly learned that athletic admin was not at all what I wanted to do long-term, so eventually I headed to Minneapolis where I landed my first gig as a Business Intelligence consultant. Did I go to school for computer science you ask? No, I did not. But I did and still do have an aptitude to learn. And learn is what I did. For the early part of my career I did a lot of report and dashboard development. Analyzing data sets and determining how best to visualize that data for customers. It definitely spoke to my creative side. One of my favorite aspects of being a consultant is that you are the "expert", so depending on the client's software preferences I had to learn many different visualization tools (note: this is my philosophy on project management tools as well. Each has their own features but in general learn one and you can learn them all). This has turned into a central pillar of my career...A.B.L...always be learnin'. That will keep you relevant with the latest technologies and trends as well as keep you from becoming stagnant from a skillset perspective.

Eventually, though, I realized I didn't particularly enjoy being a developer. I did, however, really like working and collaborating cross-functionally with engineers, architects and business folks. The Universe must have known I was seeking a change in direction. One day I was told that a struggling project needed a new project manager and I was to be that person. Scary in the moment because I wasn't a PM at the time, but without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me! I found my niche and I have never looked back. Thank you Universe...good looking out! I get to work in tech keeping up with the latest and newest software, on a team, partnering with folks who bring incredible expertise to the table.

Just like in my playing days as team captain, I've found my sweet spot in leading teams through complex projects. And I like to think that my brief experience as a developer makes me a better PM by allowing me to be more empathetic and understanding of the struggles my team goes through during projects.

Adulting Is Fun

During this time in my personal life, I managed to find the peanut butter to my jelly. My wife is one of the funniest, smartest people I know and she works as a Chiropractor, which comes in quite handy for me. We bought a house in the suburbs, rescued our dog Penny (officially her name is Moneypenny for any Bond fans out there!), married in 2022 and welcomed our baby girl in 2024. Kind of a whirlwind, but life is meant to be an adventure!

At the time of writing this my daughter is 7 months old and no offense to anyone I've ever met, but she's the coolest person I know! Being her mom is my new purpose in life and I can't wait to see the person she's going to become. I remember the day she was born. We hadn't even been discharged from the hospital yet. I was probably supposed to be sleeping, but like most new moms I just couldn't stop staring at her while she slept in the bassinet next to me. I remember very vividly this overwhelming sense of pride and motivation swarm over me. Everything I do now is for her and my family.

I also think becoming a parent has made me better in my profession. Not only do I enjoy what I do, but like I said, I'm more motivated than ever to continue to be successful so that I can provide for and create memories with my family. The type of companies I enjoy working for culturally align with this philosophy. I work damn hard, so that I can enjoy time off and play hard with the people I love most!

Building Community and Finding My People

So there you have it. The blog post you never asked for, but hopefully found somewhat entertaining :) And as always, feel free to reach out via email or LinkedIn if you want to connect on project management, scrum, technology, motherhood (I'm learning it really does take a village...wow!), sports, traveling...whatever. My hope with this blog is to make some genuine connections and add to my already amazing network of people.

That's all for now and thanks for stopping by!

xx Kristi