Technology, Talent, Operations

ANN B. BROWNELL, PhD

Evanston, Illinois, USA +1-847-***-**** ***.********@*****.*** linkedin.com/in/annbrownell PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Talent, technology, and operations advocate with creative solutions for a productive workforce. I inspire and coach individuals and teams to maximize engagement, achievement, retention, and joy. RECENT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director of Team Experience, Operations, Community Engagement Origami Works Foundation - Private family philanthropic foundation supporting Workforce Development February 2022 - September 2024

• Coached and empowered individuals and the entire team to refine our vision, mission, and beliefs and bring them to life with our partners and through our policies, practices, and projects. Introduced and facilitated all-hands meetings to build unity and collaboration and to explore ideas, inspirations, initiatives.

• Implemented recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding procedures to ensure equity and compliance. Created framework and tools for professional development and performance reviews, fostering a culture of empowerment and continuous growth.

• Increased efficiency and reduced security risks through training, developing best practices and organizational processes. Transitioned organization to Google Workspace. CTO - Chief Technology Officer, Operations, Personnel and Project Management Aspiritech NFP - QA Services, Nonprofit, Neurodiverse Employees February 2018 - April 2021

• Guided the company from a visionary and charming startup to a professional technical services firm by developing standards for training, professional development, and service. Empowered, mentored, coached and developed our neurodiverse team from testers to analysts, leads, specialists, supervisors and managers.

• Implemented performance review and improvement processes for general and specialized skills including Section 508 Accessibility, cyber security, data analysis, agile methodology, and peer-to-peer mentoring. Introduced multiple career paths and levels with clear expectations and goals for each.

• Created the IT Networking and Infrastructure Team from a collection of experienced employees with xtra time to a team with dedicated roles, standards, processes, proactive planning, and lean documentation. Director of Quality Assurance

Workhorse Software

June 2015 - March 2018

As a member of the Mediatools Product Development team, I had the opportunity to work with Ken Green, the creative genius and founder of Workhorse and a hardworking team of developers, product management, and support staff. Together we built new technology while also maintaining our legacy products. I was very lucky to be supported by a team of QA analysts from Aspiritech (aspiritech.org) and from Forte Group (fortegrp.com). Process Improvement Advisor, Coach, Consultant - Operations, Business Processes Independent contractor for a small business and two non-profit organizations December 2012 - April 2018

• Coached the leadership team, key product teams, and individuals to follow their good word with good work to align processes and projects with the organization’s goals, mission, team dynamics, and individual skills and interests. Studied the company culture and helped plan for and guide natural cultural shifts during growth periods to facilitate evolution, not revolution. ANN B. BROWNELL, PhD

• Evaluated, and adjusted relevant agile methodology practices to reduce superfluous processes and practices to increase efficiency and productivity. On all projects, we started by leveraging existing tools, practices, and employee knowledge to allow for efficient and sustainable scaling and growth. When necessary, we explored other tools and practices.

EDUCATION

PhD Educational Processes - Learning and development of individuals and groups MA Counseling Psychology - Individuals, groups, programs, organizations, and systems Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

BA Psychology and Education - Secondary Teaching Certification in Social Sciences Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin

QUALITIES, KNOWLEDGE, AND SKILLS

● Technically astute, intelligent, level-headed. I’m sad the pandemic ended so many lives; I’m happy about the progress we made in a short time.

Cloud collaboration and virtual meeting and instant message tools (Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Zoom, GoToMeeting, Slack)

Advocate for responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) - ChatGPT, Copilot, Bard

Ability to learn any app or platform

● Project Management using agile methodology for large and small projects.

Atlassian tools (JIRA, Confluence, Trello), GitHub, Figma, Monday.com

Creative use of tools and practices for diverse teams and needs

● Natural leader and mentor. Eleven siblings and four children taught me collaboration, communication, confidence, and courage to face challenges directly.

My approach involves the active participation and input by those affected / served HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

Neurodiversity and Disability Advocate

Tap.Partners (project with like-minded colleague as advocates for equity and empowerment), Independent

● Guide and coach individuals and organizations in diversity, inclusion, equity, universal design, Section 508 Accessibility Standards

Hospice, Respite, Elder Patient Care Volunteer

Three Crowns Park, JourneyCare, Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center

● Provide Creative end of life support for patients, caregivers, and families Cross-Cultural Awareness, Understanding, Diplomacy, and Compliance Cultural Care Au Pair, Organization for Cultural Exchange Among Nations (OCEAN), 2+ yr Expat in Spain

● Support and host au pairs in transition due to personal, family, medical, and legal circumstances

● Served as advisor and mentor for foreign exchange high school students

● Lived abroad for 2+ years with my 4 children when they were 6-13 years old

● Completed the Camino de Santiago and inspired my children and many others to complete it as well ***.********@*****.*** Page 2

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