Education & Certifications
Bachelors of Arts
Bowling Green State University
Major: German
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language, culture, arts and linguistics
Minor: Marketing and Advertising
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Services Marketing, Advertising, Online Marketing, Consumer Behavior​​
Graduated May 2004
​Programs​: 2002 - 2003 study abroad at Universität Salzburg. Projects: 2004: German Literature & Arts - Play production, screen translation, and video documentary for Heinrich von Kleist's "Amphitryon". 2004: Services Marketing projects- in depth evaluation of various services provided by companies, such as airlines, internet shopping, hospitality, local small businesses, and customer loyalty programs. 2002: German Linguistics - history and development of the Dutch language from the low Franconian dialect of the early West Germanic language. 2001: American Culture Studies semester project- Women's Body Image in media. Presentation with panel discussion.
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
Graduate Work
Bowling Green State University & Universität Salzburg
Salzburg, Austria ​
Masters in German
- Partially Completed 2004 - 2005
First year of the BGSU Masters in German program was completed at the Universität Salzburg, Austria. During my year in graduate school, we focused on the literature, art and history of the German Weimar Republic.
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My area of study and expertise: Former German Democratic Republic, specifically the time around the construction of the Berlin Wall, 1961 and its film company, DEFA.
Master Thesis Project: East German film company, DEFA's positive portrayal of Socialism and life in the GDR immediately before and after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Referencing Konrad Wolf's "Der geteilte Himmel" (Divided Heaven) and focusing on the main character's decision to commit her life to work and being part of building a socialist society.
Research: For my research, not only did I read every book and watch every film I could get my hands on, but I also visited former East German (DDR) cities, such as Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. In Berlin, I spent most of my time in the former eastern block of the city, visiting the museums and DDR relic shops. In addition, I spoke with personal friends who were born in East Germany and their families. In speaking to their grandparents, I got the opportunity to hear about the lives of (former) East Germans before, during, and after the wall.
SAFe® 6 Architecture
2024 – Current
Architecting for Continuous Value Flow with SAFe
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Lead architectural alignment with business strategy, ensuring technical decisions support Strategic Themes and Portfolio Vision
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Establish Solution Intent through collaborative modeling and appropriate documentation, maintaining balance between fixed and variable architecture
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Contribute to Solution and PI Roadmaps, developing critical Enablers for the Architectural Runway to support future business functionality
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Champion DevOps practices, designing loosely coupled systems that support continuous integration, testing, and deployment
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Facilitate architectural discussions during PI Planning, providing guidance during team breakouts and helping to resolve architectural risks
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Actively participate in Iteration Reviews, System Demos, and Solution Demos, demonstrating architectural progress and gathering feedback
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Manage non-functional requirements (NFRs) with quantifiable metrics and scales, automating compliance to maintain quality
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Collaborate with Product Management to prioritize backlogs using weighted shortest job first (WSJF) methodology
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Guide implementation of Enabler Epics for major technology shifts while providing technical leadership across ARTs and Value Streams
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Apply SAFe principles to foster Built-in Quality while balancing intentional architecture and emergent design
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Product Management Certificate
2021
Successfully demonstrated that I can think like a Product Manager and have gained knowledge in:
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Defining a product strategy
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Experimentation - market analysis, customer development, strategic positioning & competitive
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Identifying Use Cases and developing user personas
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Achieving Product-Market fit - Quantitative & Qualitative User Research, MVP, A/B Testing
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Design Thinking - Wireframes, PRD, UX design
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Stakeholder Collaboration - Scrum, Product Roadmap, APIs & Integrations
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Product Marketing and GTM Planning
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Final project focused on a new category feature for the work management tool, Smartsheet.
Certified Scrum Master
2021 - 2025: Expired
Successfully demonstrated via the course and exam that I fully understand the Scrum framework & values, Empirical process, and Agile Manifesto Values.
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Course and certification included:
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Scrum Theory
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Scrum Values
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Scrum Team (roles & responsibilities)
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Scrum Events
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Scrum Artifacts
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Empirical Process & Pillars
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Agile Methodologies and Values
Google Workspace Administrator Professional Certificate
Introduction to Google Workspace Administration
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1 week of study, 6-8 hours
Managing Google Workspace
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1 week of study, 6-8 hours
Google Workspace Security
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1 week of study, 4-6 hours
Google Workspace Mail Management
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1 week of study, 6-8 hours
Planning for a Google Workspace Deployment
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1 week of study, 4-6 hours
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TEFL Professional Certificate
Professional certification for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
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120 hour online course + 35 hour TEFL Practicum.
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Course included:
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Teaching for different learning styles, multiple intelligences, and language barriers.
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History of English and grammar
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Communication and teaching to ESL students
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Building lesson plans, exercises and tests.
35 Hour Practicum completed at a Chicago ESL and English in the workforce institute.
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High School Diploma
Perrysburg High School
Perrysburg, Ohio
Graduated in 1998
Four - year High School for College Prep
Grades 9 - 12
Courses:
Literature - American, British
Mathematics - Algebra, Geometry
History - American, British
American Government
Language - German (4 years)
Science - Earth Science, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry
Arts - Painting, Drawing, Ceramics, Photography
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Clubs & Programs:
German Club
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Representative (grades 9 -10)
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Vice President (grades 11 - 12)
Environmental Club
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Member (grades 9 - 10)
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Executive member (grades 11 - 12)
Student Council
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Representative (grade 10)
Photography Club
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Member (grades 11 - 12)
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Awards:
German - American Society Award - 1996 and 1997
Honor Roll - 1997 - 1998
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OTHER UNDERGRAD STUDIES
The University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Fall 2000 - Summer 2001: Part-time student
General education classes with a focus in German Language and culture.
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Programs:​
UT - Darmstadt Exchange Program
Summer 2000
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Scholarships & Awards:
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Herbert B Schering Exchange Program and Award in German Studies
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The German Study Scholarship Fund
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Fall 1998 - Summer 1999
Cinematography and Film/Video Production
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Strong focus on storyboard development and design, writing, character development, film editing, general film production, and the art of film.
Projects: (All films were silent and produced on 16mm B&W reversal film using a Paillard Bolex Camera)
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(1) Three-minute film editing exercise in which each student received the same reels of film and were tasked to edit them using the film editing style of your choice and why.
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(1) Five-minute group film production in which students collaborated on the plot, storyboard development, casting, pre-production, production, and editing.
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(1) Five-minute class film production in a studio. Everyone presented a story and one was selected to be produced. We worked together to build the sets, set up the lighting and each student took on their desired role. My role was as a producer in which I kept the "crew" on time, in positions, and worked through the shot list - working with the "director" to cut when needed for time.
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(1) Five-minute final film production in which I developed my own story and characters, scouted out locations, built my own storyboards that detailed out how the scenes were to be filmed, casted my actors, "hired" my crew, set the schedules and produced my own film. Post production was days spent in a dark editing room, cutting and splicing my film.
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