You’d be surprised where technology can take you if you make it your own

My first tech memories are from when I was just 5. My dad brought home a Heathkit(opens in new tab/window) computer system, and I “helped” him build it.  I remember playing Space Invaders(opens in new tab/window) on that green and white screen and later learning to program the computer using BASIC(opens in new tab/window). I loved that I could make that machine do brand new things based on the instructions I gave it.

As I grew up, my interests in STEM expanded to include biology, chemistry and more. When I started college, I was majoring in biochemistry with plans to go to medical school. But a freshman biochem seminar introduced me to all the other possibilities in the field, and I became excited about bioinformatics(opens in new tab/window) — a new (at the time) field that combined my love of science and technology. Studying both biochemistry and computer and information science meant I didn’t have to choose between the things I was excited about.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was building my future iteratively, like the process that goes into agile software design — and a key component in the development was my personality.

“I like people too much to sit behind a computer all day.”

I started my professional career as a software engineer building desktop software and web-based games for customers in the pharmaceutical and entertainment industries, and later I worked with big data, enterprise software and cloud computing. As time went on, however, I realized that I wanted to do something more strategic and grow my leadership skills. There’s a lot more to being a technologist than writing code, and I like people too much to sit behind a computer all day.

I made the shift into leadership first by becoming a manager of an engineering team and then as part of a project management organization (PMO).

At Elsevier, I’ve had the opportunity to return to my early loves of science and technology. As a Program Manager, I manage a global team of project managers who deliver a variety of software and product development investment projects for the Health Markets division of Elsevier. I’m responsible for the coaching, mentoring and career growth of direct reports.

I also manage the $10 million Advanced Clinical Decision Support (ACDS) global portfolio of investment projects, which includes products to help clinicians make better decisions at the point of care and improve patient outcomes. I coordinate workstreams across technology, product, commercial, compliance, regulatory, safety (including Medical Device Registration), finance, strategy, and customer support.

One of the products I’m most proud of is ClinicalPath Primary Care Pathways, which we recently launched in India. This tool will be used by frontline healthcare workers to identify people in rural communities who have at-risk pregnancies and get them the care they need so they and their babies will be healthy. This product directly contributes to our mission to improve every patient outcome.

Finding my purpose as a leader

As women, we are often expected to handle multiple roles at the same time: as caregivers, as professionals, as household managers and more. This ability to excel at many different types of tasks has served me well in my career and given me the courage to pursue more strategic opportunities. I've also been very fortunate to participate in a number of leadership development programs designed specifically for women, including Elsevier’s Developing Talent for Gender Equity program. Through a combination of group sessions with a cohort, one-on-one coaching, and mentoring, this program has helped me to develop my leadership skills and understand what kind of leader I want to be.

I believe as a leader, it’s important to make a difference in the world, to leave the world a better place than where I found it. I see my role in the organization as making connections between people and ideas. My job as part of the PMO is to look across all the different functional areas and people involved with bringing a new product to life and make sure all the seams are sealed so nothing seeps through.

As a leader, I want to help people develop into the best versions of themselves by giving them the tools and courage they need to take the next steps in their careers. What you can expect from me is my full attention and respect and a creative approach to whatever we are working on together. People often think that technology and creativity are mutually exclusive, but I’d argue the opposite is true. We’re inventing the software of the future, and we’re doing it to solve real-world problems. That requires out-of-the-box thinking from multiple angles. Women bring a different perspective than men do. It’s important to incorporate these unique experiences when we are building software, tools and technology so they work well for everyone.

Sometimes it’s frustrating to be the only woman in the room, especially as I move further up in my career. But it’s important that we keep showing up and that we reach back a hand to help those coming behind us so that continues to change. And I’ve found that at Elsevier, there are more and more women in the room with me.

Technology is changing our world at a rapid pace; 20 years ago, we had little notion of the cloud, how powerful cell phones would be, or how connected the world would become. I can’t wait to see what the next 20 years will bring, and I’m excited to be some small part of shaping it through the life-changing work we do at Elsevier!