Program Manager/ Process Improvement Manager

Bernette Bell-Schmitt • 240-***-**** • ************@*****.***

Bernette Bell-Schmitt

240-***-**** • ************@*****.*** • LinkedIn • Frederick, MD IT Business Transformation Delivery Leader

Enterprise Leadership • Cloud Solutions • Digital Transformation • Public Trust Clearance & CISSP An innovative, creative, and committed Senior Program Leader with over 25 years of experience delivering transformative cloud technology solutions across complex and mission-critical environments. As a moral leader, she focused on supplying outstanding leadership while enabling team development, growth, and retention. Verified ability to highly build performance, scalable, and efficient technology solutions, optimize growth, and advance enterprise organizational impact. SKILLS & EXPERTISE

• Program/Project Mgmt. Office

Development & Sustainability

• Strategic Process Improvement

• SDLC/SCRUM Knowledgeable

• Scaled Agile Knowledgeable

• Generative AI Certified PM

• Enterprise SaaS, PaaS & IaaS

Solutions Development & Delivery

• Enterprise Release Management

• Enterprise Product Development

• Call Center Development &

Growth

• Created, Sustained, and Grew IT

Security Program Management

Capabilities for Federal Agencies

• AWS and Azure Cloud Migration

Knowledge

• Enterprise Process Improvement

Development & Management

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

• Performance Optimization - Drove multiple organizations towards developing, implementing, and refining internal process improvement infrastructures to obtain industry standardized methodologies (CMMI; ISO 9000 series; ISO 20000 series; ITIL/ITSM, and Agile certifications within 18 to 24 months of introduction to certification assessment.

• Enterprise Cloud Solutions - Designed, developed, implemented, sustained, and grew multiple enterprise Azure and AWS Cloud environments within government and private sectors. Adapted industry standards for organizations to migrate, implement, and sustain Cloud environments that have grown and increased in complexity over several years.

• Enterprise Growth & Scalability – Deliver multiple enterprise-wide solutions design, development, implementation, and growth for systems that are used nationally and internationally with high-volume banking transactions.

• Introduced, Used, and Sustained – Growth focused for API Integration team(s) that integrated Salesforce, MuleSoft, and MS platform-based APIs into a dynamic environment of enterprise solutions that provided support, delivery, and growth to large federal agencies dedicated to delivering Veteran benefits worldwide. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

International Business Machines (IBM) Remote Sept. 2023 -Present Sr. Program Manager/Director, IT Client Delivery

The Program Manager requires adept oversight of the team's operational aspects and efficient use of tools such as ServiceNow for Incidents/Service Requests and JIRA for story/task allocation tracking. In this role, I have collaborated with the Team Manager to ensure seamless troubleshooting and improvement of integration APIs, active participation in the release process, and effective support process management. As the Program Manager, I currently facilitate clear communication between the team and stakeholders. Strong leadership skills and the ability to coordinate and optimize information flow are essential for success in this role.

• Managed a team of IT Sustainment and Operations professionals, providing guidance and support to ensure successful project delivery.

• Possesses a strong technical background in application integration, critical thinking, critical thinking skills for complex issues, and the ability to communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders in team meetings. Bernette Bell-Schmitt • 240-***-**** • ************@*****.*** PowerPoint is used to provide additional understanding and to capture decision-making path-forward actionable items.

• Oversaw development and implementation of IT policies, procedures, and standards to improve operational efficiency.

• Manage the daily operations of the support team that provides production support MuleSoft Integration with APIs from Salesforce CRM and Microsoft application platform tools such as Dynamics, Power Apps, etc., to name a few.

• Manage the daily operations of the support team that provides architecture and governance of Integration APIs

• Collaborated with executive leadership to define the organization's technology roadmap and prioritize projects based on business needs.

• Lead troubleshooting efforts through to resolution. Quickly follow up on efforts to inform other enterprise technology teams to inform them of developed, assessed, and implemented resolutions.

• Collaborated with executive leadership to define the organization's technology roadmap and prioritize projects based on business needs.

• Develop, maintain, and sustain/grow operational policies, procedures, and process documentation on divisional Confluence and SharePoint sites.

• Collaborate with System Integrators and stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities, deliverables, and API Integrations

• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure compliance with agreed-upon performance metrics.

• Provide regular status updates with leadership on progress and issues as they arise.

• Led the evaluation and selection process for innovative technologies that enhanced productivity and supported business growth initiatives.

• Implemented data governance practices to ensure data integrity, privacy protection, and regulatory compliance across the organization.

• Responsible for leading, managing, and supporting various IT integration projects throughout their full lifecycle. This includes Integration development and sustainment resources.

• Implemented a comprehensive IT governance framework to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

• Established strong relationships with key stakeholders to understand their technical needs and provide effective solutions.

• Led the strategic planning and execution of all IT initiatives, aligning technology solutions with business objectives.

• Ensure the successful delivery of projects by effectively managing scope, budget, schedule, quality, risks, and stakeholder expectations.

• Define and implement the portfolio management strategy, processes, and best practices, ensuring alignment with the organizational vision, mission, and goals.

• Build and nurture strong relationships with clients, when required, to ensure a deep understanding of their needs and desired outcomes and customer satisfaction.

Highpoint Digital Baltimore, MD 2019 to 2023

Senior Manager, IT Client Delivery

• Delivered leadership, IT solutions development, implementation, and sustainment for critical enterprise systems, while supplying daily leadership to a 65-person team with eight direct reports.

• Successfully implemented multiple technologies within the Microsoft ecosystem for the use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (D365CE). In partnership with senior leadership, eight vendors were selected and managed, along with HP technology teams, to identify, integrate, and implement D365CE within the organization.

• Selected to deliver program management support, and strategic consulting to Highpoint Digital as part of a

$100M/year contract for training, quality, and content (TQC) in support of the CMS’ Contact Center Operations

(COO).

• Serving as a key thought leader, developed IT strategic plans, supported Business Development, and delivered extensive leadership across project management, software development, and vendor selection and management.

• Managed team of four solution architects, two database administrators, IT project managers, and a QA software testing team to develop Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) Implementation, Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) design, configuration, implementation, and post-implementation support.

• Performed Program Management and Risk Management for the migration of enterprise eLearning Mgmt. Systems to Microsoft, Google, and Oracle Cloud solutions.

I collaborated with team(s) to architect, design, and implement Azure Networking Services: Virtual Network, Load Balancers, Application Gateway, VPN Gateway, Azure DNS, Traffic Manager, and Express Route.

• Contributed to winning fourteen multi-million-dollar contracts with values from $10M to over $200M during the contract life. During the development of proposals for the various federal government agencies, they collaborated with larger systems integration firms to expand their organizational footprint into added government agencies. Bernette Bell-Schmitt • 240-***-**** • ************@*****.***

• With a focus on customer-centric solutions, supporting project management, schedules, and migrations. Led resources planning, sales and marketing integration, lead generation, and proposal development to federal government clients.

• Managed a team of sixty-five responsible for data center administration, solutions architecture design, and development, in addition to twelve subcontractors performing database administration, project management, and software development.

• Led the project team responsible for migrating large enterprise-wide Learning Management systems from on-site data center environments to the Cloud using Azure and AWS environments.

• Support the development, implementation, and sustainment of Agile Application Development and data services, including enterprise architecture and design consulting, as well as digital governance and information management.

• Led a team of Azure Cloud Architects to bridge the gap between client needs and ICT advancements.

• Built and automated Power BI reports for the client-facing, high-visibility mission-critical solutions developed by HP that were able to reduce fifty person-hours of data cleansing and creating a report in Power BI for monthly deliverables to CMS.

• Driving software development best practices, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations. Implement Agile-based/SCRUM solutions development techniques.

• Develop, implement, and support Business Process Modernization and Data Transformation Centers of Excellence. Created and led the Systems organization's Process Improvement Board to develop, implement, and continuously grow Comma-based processes, tools, Agile-based solutions, and ITIL framework support methodologies.

• With a focus on performance and operational excellence, lead team performing a broad spectrum of infrastructure technologies and secure computing environments: network, hardware, operating systems, servers, and storage.

• Developed, implemented, and grew Product Development Strategies across new products and service offerings.

• Deliver IT Human Capital Management, performance evaluations, professional development, training, and mentorship.

• Ensure audit readiness and issue resolution across applications and systems, in collaboration with Systems ISSO. Principal/Senior Consultant

Technology Ryders, LLC Frederick, MD 2014 to 2019

• Experienced working with technical teams facilitating cloud migrations, lifting, shifting, developing in public/private/hybrid cloud environments, network integration, and integration with other shared services.

• Knowledgeable in server and system administration environments (HW, SW, Licensing, OS, NW, etc.).

• Collaborating with the primary cloud vendor (Microsoft or AWS) and other vendors to create and manage the project plan for moving physical and virtual resources from data centers into the cloud.

• Able to use Agile project management and collaboration tools to efficiently record and track issues and supply summary reports regularly.

• Managed networks of desktop, VM, and cloud resources. Introduced, implemented, and grew cloud resources/applications as a service offering for the organization.

• Proposed and achieved the modernization of existing enterprise-level data centers to migrate existing platforms to a more cloud-centric environment.

• Technology Ryders’ internal PMO staff used to collaborate with client managers to schedule project requirements gathering, architecture, Disaster Recovery, and orchestration meetings, delivered weekly status meetings, regular cost reporting, change management, etc.

• Performed duties as the single point of contact for customers about deliverables and issue resolution.

• Conduct planning efforts supplying time and cost estimates to develop technical roadmaps for migrating complex applications to AWS or Azure.

• Drove process improvement, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced costs by using internal and external partners.

• Established best practices around incident management, problem resolution, change management, and production support.

• Supplied leadership and supervised managers responsible for IT infrastructure and the workflow of end-user help desk requests.

• Monitored and reported to business leaders and executives on IT operational metrics with the goal of continuous improvement.

• Ensured high-priority client(s) incidents are addressed within stated Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

• Drove process improvement, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced costs by using internal and external partners.

• Established best practices around incident management, problem resolution, change management, and production support.

Bernette Bell-Schmitt • 240-***-**** • ************@*****.***

• Supplied leadership and supervised managers responsible for IT infrastructure and the workflow of end-user help desk requests.

• Ensured high-priority incidents are addressed within stated Service Level Agreements. Action, Inc. Washington, DC 2010 to 2014

Senior Technology Manager

• Responsible for strategic and tactical leadership across organizational information technologies and processes, building innovative cloud-based capabilities that used emerging technologies to deliver infrastructure support solutions, and supplying daily leadership to seven direct and five indirect reports.

• Led IT staffing for a team of forty data center engineers, software developers, and quality assurance to perform data engineering that later became the infrastructures for the Cloud environments within Action’s GovCloud capabilities.

• Led business development, found, and developed partnerships across enterprise, medium, and small companies.

• Developed and supported policies, guidelines, standards, and procedures across IT operations, including system security, disaster recovery, risk mitigation, security test plans, quality assurance, and configuration management plans.

• Developed and wrote IT technical proposals and IT-specific marketing plans Reviewed software and hardware acquisition and maintenance contracts; pursued primary agreements to capitalize on economics of scale.

• With a focus on modernization, the migration strategy led from traditional data center management to cloud-based services. Implemented continuous integration and continuous development,

• Directed the development and execution of enterprise-wide disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

• Defined roadmaps for innovative technology implementations and led communications with key stakeholders.

• Defined and communicated corporate procedures, policies, and standards for the organization for buying, implementing, and running network systems, equipment, software, cloud services, and other technologies. Northrop Grumman Bethesda, MD 2003 to 2010

Director, Information Technologies

• Responsible for leading the global vision, strategic planning, and advancement of IT divisional technologies and assets, while delivering leadership and supplying leadership to seventy-five team members.

• As the Team Leader, delivered internal consulting for software development, developed requirements, design, coding, testing, and implementation of solutions while augmenting divisional support for added client-facing systems.

• Developed, implemented, and executed strategic and tactical IT operations, budgets, and daily IT operations oversight for a division forming over 70 IT professionals. Created trusted partnerships and relationships.

• Selected to lead a team of enterprise solution architects. Developed and implemented service-oriented architecture and object-oriented environments within both public and private organizations, while ensuring team best practices.

• Fostered Agile Methodologies transition and decreased SDLC time for the application development team by 40%.

• Prepared, presented, and supported capital and operating budget for computer hardware, software, and peripherals. Reduced operational expenditures by 30% by achieving 80% server virtualization of the corporate data center.

• With a focus on efficiency, led the cloud service model, application development, mobility, identity, and team leadership to deliver reliable online systems. Managed risks and dependencies and remained responsive to market demands.

• Developed, reviewed, and certified all backup and disaster recovery procedures and plans.

• Hired, kept, and managed over 70 IT professionals. Established goals and metrics to measure IT staff performance and ensure high performance. Oversaw multiple vendors, team members, and Subject Matter Experts.

• Served as the interim divisional CTO during a leadership transition, ensuring continuity and smooth operations. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

Bachelor of Science, International Business Management, University of Phoenix – 2010 CISSP Certification – Achieved: 2023

Scaled Agile Certified Practitioner, ITIL 4 Certified – Achieved: 2022 Former Appraiser, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Former PMI-Program Manager – Obtained: 2017; Recently Expired AREAS OF EXPERTISE & TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

Bernette Bell-Schmitt • 240-***-**** • ************@*****.*** Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Big Data Model Design (Collibra)

MS 365

Salesforce

MuleSoft Version 4.6 API Development & Sustainment HTML5

XML

ASP.NET

Oracle/SQL Administration

PeopleSoft

Confluence/SharePoint (Documentation Repository) Development & Sustainment

.NET/VB.Net

C#

VMWare

MS SQL Server

Redhat Unix/Linux Administration

Web 2.0

JAVA/J2EE

API Integration(s)

SaaS/ PaaS/IaaS

SOA Models

Roadmap Development & Sustainment

AWS

Active Directory/MS Exchange 2020

DNS/DHCP

VLANS/VPN Administration

MySQL Administration

DLL

JQuery

Bootstrap

Highcharts.js

SAP Success Factors

Microsoft Dynamics ERP 365

Kanban/Atlassian Suite (JIRA/Confluence/Bamboo/Bitbucket) SCRUM Leadership

Business Transformation

Cloud Migration Strategy Development

Product Development

Enterprise Strategy Development Growth Initiatives

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