April’s Employees of the Month at Strategic

• How long have you worked for Strategic Communications?

5 years. Started the Monday after attending my very first Derby.  

• What was your background prior to working for Strategic Communications?

My early career started in production roles for film and television. From there, I worked for a business selling collaboration solutions for fortune 500 companies and infrastructure solutions for high-rise office buildings and hotels in Chicago. By mid-career, I oversaw all marketing and sales for three brands under a parent creative company and film studio. I sold production of film and TV spots, video graphic content for website or corporate communications, and large-scale live event design and execution(think broadcast of multi-city Olympic sponsorship event or Lollapalooza).

• What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding or fulfilling?

The tangible results of looking back on a project and seeing our work. I drive by the soccer stadium and other client sites and feel pride knowing Strategic did that.

• What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?

Work for people who believe and value you and take pride in your work.

• Outside of work, what are you passionate about/enjoy doing?

I love natural spaces and spending time with my family and dog outside whether it’s our backyard,  in the woods on my in-law’s property or one of our annual family trips to a national park. My family and I are passionate about preservation of natural spaces in our world.

• What is your current favorite TV Show, Podcast, or Book that you’d like to share with the world?

TV: I’m currently glued to season two of Russian Doll.  Book: Ernest Shackleton’s Biography;  it’s a tale of tremendous survival and leadership.

• What is something that people may not know about you?

 I didn’t go to college right after High school. I was accepted to several and had a few small scholarships for cross country and track but turned them down and instead backpacked on my own across Europe and parts of Africa for two months.

• How long have you worked for Strategic Communications?

I have worked for Strategic for a little over 10 years.

• What was your background prior to working for Strategic Communications?

I graduated from Utah Technical College with a degree in electronics. I have worked for several companies that have all held the hardware maintenance contract for the State of Utah for about 30 years.

• What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding or fulfilling?

The most rewarding thing about my job is that I get to help solve customers’ problem with hardware issues. This makes their life better, at least for a short time.

• What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?

The best career lesson I have learned is to always put the customers’ needs first and be loyal.

• Outside of work, what are you passionate about/enjoy doing?

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with family and grandchildren. I spend a lot of nights and weekends at the baseball field and soccer field watching them play.

• What is something that people may not know about you?

In the fall I enjoy hunting Upland Game with family and my hunting dog.

• How long have you worked for Strategic Communications?

I just had my one-year anniversary!

• What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on at Strategic?

Accounting is more task-based than project based, but my favorite task is probably anything collaborative. Everyone in accounting makes a great team!

• What does your dream vacation look like?

A fun city with plenty of sights to see/ things to do with a variety of different foods to try!

• Who is your favorite musical artist, and what was the first concert you attended?

My first concert was Ariana Grande back when I was a freshman in high school. I’m a pretty loyal fan so I would say she’s probably still my favorite!

• How would your family, friends, or coworkers describe you in three words?

Energetic, driven, and spontaneous

• What is your current favorite TV Show, Podcast, or Book that you’d like to share with the world?

I’m a complete sucker for reality television.  If I had to pick one as my favorite, I would probably go with “The Circle” on Netflix. It’s basically a popularity contest with social media but they always have such interesting personalities ( I could totally win ) !