Description

Technology Director, Interview with Danielle:

Danielle and I met during the pandemic when our paths crossed with a Mastering Design Thinking course at MIT. We have stayed in contact over the years and Danielle has changed companies and roles since we met and I thought her journey has been an interesting journey to share. Danielle works for a company that is trying to make an impact in sustainability and the climate crisis in the world today.

Danielle's Bio:

Danielle is a mom to Finn - the most perfect dog in the world, a baking enthusiast, and a music lover. In 2021, she made the switch from design technology specialist at a civil engineering company to the product owner and technology director for a small sustainability focused business; Kim Lundgren Associates (KLA). At KLA, all the work is mission-driven to end climate change in partnership with local governments. With a career focused on the critical issue of our time, Danielle has been able to find great purpose in the work that she enjoys doing. Danielle has been a speaker about the ways in which our built environment is influenced by systemic racism. She has also given talks to those in the field of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) to help folks understand how critical the lack of diversity is in the industry and how that diminishes the quality of the industry’s products and designs. Danielle graduated from UConn's School of Engineering with a focus in Civil Engineering. While at UConn she was president of the LGBTQ+ student group AQUA (Allies and Queers Undergraduate Association) and a member of the marching and pep bands for three years. When there is a UConn Women's Basketball game on, you can probably find her nervously yelling or cheering at the TV. 

Get in contact with Danielle:

• LinkedIn

Key Takeaways:

• The Technology Director role did not exist when Danielle joined the company. Danielle identified the need for the role and went after it.
• Strategies to stay up to date on techical advancements - research industry trends, join community groups, slack groups, technology user groups. Get involved that helps you stay up to date.
• Transferable skills - Empathy, listening, communications, organization, patients and problem solving.
• What challenges do you have in - no office which is a challenge but also a benefit. Collaborating is challenging when you don’t have a space to work in, but leveraging some software to help with collaborating.
• Balancing personal / professional - Set boundaries, set expectation with teams and stick to them. Utilize technology to create habits, use focus time on your phone. 
• Advice for pursuing career - look for mentors, most people like to mentor others and help out where they can, network, look people up on LinkedIn who have the job you are interested, look at their career path, skills. Also check if your company has a mentoring program. 
• Crystal ball - The climate issue we only have 7 years before the climate is forever changed.
• Design Thinking is a key to having the confidence to go after the Technology Director role, this is a great example of professional development. 

Resources:

• Overview - Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
• ClickUp™ | One app to replace them all
• monday.com | A new way of working