What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
I am the Director of the Project and Portfolio Management Office (PPMO) in Information Services. My work focuses on helping the university prioritize, plan, and successfully deliver technology projects and strategic initiatives that support the institution's goals.
My responsibilities include:
- Leading the university's IT project and portfolio management practices.
- Supporting project prioritization, governance, and decision-making.
- Managing project managers and business analysts.
- Ensuring major technology initiatives are properly planned, staffed, and delivered.
- Providing executive reporting and portfolio oversight.
- Partnering with university leaders to align technology investments with institutional priorities.
- Supporting organizational change management and continuous process improvement.
What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
My career path was not a straight line, but looking back, every step prepared me for the role I have today.
I started my career in customer service at a company that made soaps and lotions. From there, I moved through several administrative assistant roles, gaining experience coordinating people, managing details, and keeping busy operations organized. Those skills eventually led me to Symantec, where I supported the Director of Business Applications in IT.
That role turned out to be a turning point. The director recognized my organizational abilities and my tendency to dig into details and solve problems. As a result, he offered me an opportunity to move into a Quality Assurance Tester role. Working on technology projects exposed me to a profession I had never seriously considered before: project management.
As I watched project managers lead teams, coordinate work, and bring ideas to life, I knew I had found something that perfectly matched my strengths and interests. I have always loved organizing tasks and information, and project management felt like the ideal role. I spent time learning from experienced project managers, asking questions, seeking advice, and figuring out what skills and training I needed to make the transition myself.
I became the first person in Symantec IT to earn the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, which remains one of the most respected credentials in the field. Shortly afterward, I was given the opportunity to lead my first official project. When the project successfully went live, I was formally moved into a project manager role. It was a moment that validated years of hard work, learning, and persistence.
Over the next two decades at Symantec and later Veritas, I continued to grow my career. I moved from managing projects to leading teams of project managers and business analysts, developers and helpdesk support analysts and eventually to managing Project Management Offices (PMOs).
In 2018, I joined the University of Oregon. I was hired to establish a Project Management Office within Information Services. Initially, the focus was on project delivery, but over time the role expanded. Today, my work includes not only ensuring projects are successfully delivered, but also helping the university prioritize initiatives, allocate resources, manage portfolio investments, and align technology efforts with strategic goals.
What began as a customer service role has evolved into a career leading complex technology portfolios and helping organizations turn ideas into reality. The common thread throughout the journey has been a love of organization, problem-solving, and helping people work together to achieve meaningful results.
What do you like about your current position?
What I enjoy most is helping teams turn ideas into results. I enjoy working with stakeholders across the university, solving complex problems, mentoring project managers and business analysts, and helping people succeed. I also appreciate the variety of the work, since every project brings new challenges and opportunities to learn.
Please share some insight into what your job involves (e.g., something you had to solve, a complicated situation that worked out well, something you are proud of, etc.)
As the Director of the Project and Portfolio Management Office (PPMO), my role is to help the organization make smart decisions about where to invest its time, money, and people resources. While project delivery is an important part of what I do, my job goes far beyond managing individual projects.
A big part of my role is bringing people together. I work with executives, technical teams, business partners, and project sponsors to align goals, resolve issues, and ensure projects stay focused on achieving meaningful outcomes. I also mentor project managers and business analysts, helping them grow their skills and become more effective leaders.
One recent accomplishment I am particularly proud of is leading and designing the first Information Services Annual Report. The effort required coordinating data collection across multiple teams, gathering metrics and success stories, aligning stakeholders, and creating a report that clearly demonstrated the value Information Services delivers to the university. There were times when I thought ‘This is never going to happen’, but I just kept plugging along.
How do you want to be remembered?
I want to be remembered as someone who cared about people, helped others succeed, and left the world a little better than I found it.
If you could only take three items with you to a deserted island, what would they be?
My husband, a hammock, and an endless supply of pizza. If I'm going to be stranded on an island, I'm going to relax, enjoy the view, and make the best of it.
If you could have the answer to any question, what would it be?
I'd love to know the meaning of life, and our purpose for being here but I'd also settle for understanding why avocados need a pit that's nearly as big as the avocado.
(October 2026)