My Story
I have always been fascinated by the dynamics of running a profitable business, creating great experiences for customers and making an environment that is a great place to work. Many entrepreneurs that I have worked with over the years are really good at one or two of those things, but don’t have strength in all three. That’s where I am unique and can bring value to you.
My business journey began at a young age when my parents bought a convenience store and I worked there after school and weekends. I loved getting to know the regulars, making perfect sandwiches for my customers, and dusting the shelves to keep everything shiny and fresh. So, when I left for college I sought employment that complimented my experience. I worked in diner-style restaurants and learned how to balance working fast and providing great service in a team environment. I went off of the retail/restaurant course a time or two, but always came back to it, as I missed being in a fast paced, team environment with a focus on the customer and quality.
After moving to Seattle, in 1998, I became a store manager at Starbucks Coffee Company who had a goal of opening 2000 stores by the year 2000. It was thrilling to be a part of growing the company into new geographies and the opportunities to grow my career somewhere that I was very proud to work. Working at Starbucks Coffee Company made a significant impression on me, shaped my views of the world in many ways and confirmed the value of a strong mission and culture that gives back to local communities. I was promoted to district manager in 2001, and had the opportunity to oversee multiple stores in the PNW and Alaska. I led field teams for 5 years, where I opened new store formats, grew both profit and revenue across my district, formed strong community relationships and promoted numerous employees (partners) to next level roles within the region. 
After 10 years in field operations, I moved to the Seattle Support Center at Starbucks to learn new skills in program/project management and explore career opportunities that would allow me to have a bigger impact on the store teams and customers. I spent the next 10 years in a variety of roles, some as an individual contributor, and some as leading teams of specialists. This gave me a unique perspective in that I was able to dive deep into the strategy and programs of multiple functions of operations. Those functions include: Learning and Development, Customer Service, Labor, Continuous Improvement, Innovation and New Formats. Some highlights from those roles:, I was instrumental in the 2008 effort to close all Starbucks stores for retraining in Customer Service and Product Quality, developed customer service programs like name badges and writing names on cups, launched Mobile Ordering, implemented new labor tools and systems, and launched new store formats across the US. By diving deep into each of these functions, I became keenly aware of the synergies and impacts of decisions made by one function on the performance of another, sometimes intentional, sometimes not. In order to deliver intended results, I developed the ability to address root causes, not symptoms through careful analysis of facts and data, benchmarking with other companies and peers, as well as tapping into my empathy and sense of right and wrong. This level of detail and assessment gave me the confidence and business case to influence at the SVP level and change direction when decisions were in conflict with the company mission or wouldn’t bring intended value to our customers and employees.
In 2017, I was tapped by Amazon to bring my expertise and leadership to help them open and scale a brand new concept called Amazon Go. This is a convenience store with Just Walk Out technology, and after reviewing the idea and watching the first store in action, I knew that I wanted to be a part of changing the way people shop, in a company that had already changed the way people shop. In my time with Amazon Go, I led the staffing, training and field learning team to open over 20 stores in ~2 years, led store launch and implementation, operations innovation, customer service, communications and change management to introduce new programs and deliver operational excellence.
In my 25 years as an operations leader, I never tired of serving customers or developing people. I am passionate about team performance and creating a culture that reflects my values. At this point in my journey, I want to take all of my learnings and expertise, to help entrepreneurs, small to medium businesses and community organizations to solve problems and grow their impact. I know that success lies in having a growth mindset, so where others see problems, I see possibilities. I’d love to help you with your possibilities.
