Experience

Leadership Greater Chicago

• United States
• Professional Training and Coaching
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Operations and Development

  • Dec 2020 - Present

  Leadership Greater Chicago is a 30-year-old nonprofit organization that cultivates Chicago’s business, public and civic leaders through a deeper understanding of the issues facing the community, helping them to build a better Chicago.- Manage operations expense budget of $1.7M- Upgrade, implement and manage an appropriate system of policies, internal controls, accounting standards and procedures.- Manage monthly validation of accounts payable, coding of expenses and revenue and delivery of monthly statements.- Execute the annual budget process.- Secure financial support from individuals, foundations and corporations to achieve annual goals.- Design and execute annual appeal campaign, including Day of Giving and class competition led by the Leadership Fellows Association (LFA) Board; provide data, tools, and resources to class representatives to support solicitation efforts.- Track, develop, maintain and cultivate ongoing relationships with major donors.- Develop and track proposals and reports for all foundation and corporate fundraising.- Advise and implement Human Resources systems and policies - Create first ever employee handbook, professionalize payroll process and PTO management system and ensure LGC follows applicable law in all aspects of employee management.- Manage upgrades and oversight of Salesforce system, reporting capabilities, data procurement and engagement strategies, mobile functionality and procedure manuals and documents.- Create suite of analytics tools to show institutional KPIs, measures, and metrics that provide actionable, data-driven insights to leadership to best support engagement and preferences, drive performance, and inform strategic decisions.- Manage IT vendor relationship to ensure all platforms are secure, understood and integrated where applicable.- Manage and enhance internal systems: institutional reporting, documentation, cloud storage, and archives



Chicago Architecture Center

• United States
• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Operations

  • Jul 2011 - Nov 2020

  Director of Operations 8/2018-11/2020Director of Tour and Retail Operations 11/2013- 8/2018Tour Operations Manager 4/2012-11/2013Tour Operations Supervisor 7/2011-4/2012Best known for the Architecture River Cruise, the CAC is the seventh largest cultural institution in Chicago with a $25M annual budget, welcoming nearly 700,000 guests each year on tours and to programs, exhibitions and a retail store. Responsible for managing both strategic and technical projects. Director in a department consisting of sales, database management, volunteer management and facilities staff.- Project management of technology and guest-service initiatives, ranging from short, time-sensitive projects to multi-year system implementation projects. - Implemented a new CRM system, new ecommerce purchase path and gift cards resulting in better guest engagement and increased customer spend.- Internal point person for all staff for two-phase move and opening of the new Chicago Architecture Center- first, an administrative office move in April 2018 and next an operational move in August 2018 including technology equipment and retail inventory. - Led the institution from a culture of manual, ad hoc reports to a customized suite of analytics tools that show institutional KPIs as well as the measures and metrics that support them. Provided actionable insights to leadership to aid the organization in achieving strategic goals. - Built and managed relationships with tourism partners and developed business opportunities and the process improvements needed to support them.



Columbia College Chicago

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Adjunct Faculty

  • Jan 2008 - Jun 2016

  Teaching two classes; An undergraduate class on how to maximize sales revenue that is required for all business and entrepreneurship students and a 15 hour, week-long graduate level workshop class on how CRM databases by used.Key Contributions:∙ Creating course content, materials, readings, lesson plans, homework assignments, and tests on my own and with little guidance.∙ Mentoring dozens of students by providing career suggestions, writing recommendation letters, and helping students as they begin their careers.

• House Manager

  • Nov 2011 - Apr 2013

  The Dance Center is a 33,000sf four-story facility with a performance space and six practice studios. Managed operations and customer service for approximately forty annual performances.Key Contributions:∙ Worked with production crew to ensure performance logistics were executed professionally.∙ Built relationships with staff, security, and visiting artists in order to provide seamless operations.∙ Welcomed and recognized subscribers and donors to aid in patron retention.∙ Recruited and trained volunteer ushers for every performance.



Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

• United States
• Performing Arts
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Manager of Ticketing and Patron Services

  • Nov 2008 - Jul 2011

  World-renowned contemporary dance company with an $11M annual budget and seasonal performances at the Harris Theater, Art Institute of Chicago, and Museum of Contemporary Art. Responsible for sales and guest experience for 30,000 guests annually at 20 performances.Key Contributions:∙ Analyzed ticket sales data to determine new ticket pricing scheme to maximize revenue.∙ Exceeded subscription sales goals every year by implementing creative marketing and retention efforts.∙ Managed data collection and designed reports to measure and drive performance goals.∙ Responsible for financial oversight for entire revenue-generating side of business.∙ Maintained ticketing software and sales-related website updates.



Chicago Symphony Orchestra

• United States
• Performing Arts
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Application Support Specialist

  • Dec 2005 - Nov 2008

  Managed the use of the CRM system used to manage all ticket sales, fundraising, ecommerce, email marketing, and finance for the administrative side of a $70M symphony orchestra.Key Contributions:∙ Established myself as a subject matter expert on the Tessitura software application.∙ Conducted training and mentoring sessions to grow software skills among 100+ colleagues in every department. ∙ Determined software usage policies and wrote procedural documents.∙ Implemented several new technologies such as ticket barcode scanning to improve guest experience and reduce cost.