From Designing Clothing to Designing Change

I didn’t always start my day getting all detailed in a change impact assessment. In fact, my roots began far away from any zoom calls or town halls. Just an 80s baby early 90s child (musical reference if anyone got that) who genuinely loved fashion, drawing, and illustrating. My mom kept all of the books I authored and illustrated (yes, this is what I did for fun)! Creativity flowed deep in my blood. For a fashionista growing up on the East Coast, living in New York was the ultimate dream. And I did make that dream come true in the early 2000s when I interned in the heart of the fashion district. My experiences sent me on countless notion errands to B&J Designs, in and out of sample factories, and behind the stage of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. And yes, the Devil Wears Prada vibes are true. Fashion was vibrant, it was exhilarating, but it wasn’t truly me.

The Journey to Find my Fit

So, I embarked on a journey to figure out what was me. Fear may have been at the forefront of some of my early decisions as I began my corporate career in the aftermath of the 2008 recession – an environment shaped by constant organizational shifts. Over the years, I’ve held diverse strategy, project management, and change management roles across retail, market research, personal care, direct selling, technology, hospitality, financial, and consulting industries. Through it all, one theme remained: a passion for improving processes and helping people thrive.

During the pandemic, my market research teams faced surging demand as organizations sought to understand public sentiment on what the heck was going on. This period deepened my curiosity around team dynamics and operational resiliency, eventually inspiring me to earn my PMP in early 2022. A PMI webinar introduced me to the formal world of Change Management – a discipline I had unknowingly been practicing for years as I considered and planned for the people involved in my projects.

My Change Niche

My first official change engagement in 2023 – a complex, multi-year IT service desk transformation – was a crash course in navigating difficult transitions. Since then, I’ve focused on technology-driven change, helping over 40 clients prepare their teams for Microsoft implementations (ERP, CRM, Power BI, Copilot, Azure AI, Intune). Today, I lead change initiatives for a hospitality leader’s pricing and revenue management division, continuing my career-long commitment to guiding people through change with compassion, structure, and curiosity.

I often follow Prosci’s established methodology for change, having earned my certification in 2024, and in 2025 deepened my understanding and expertise of the practice, becoming a CCMP certified change leader. So yes, I’m kind of a newbie on the “official” scene of managing change, but I’ve lived it, I’ve breathed it, I’ve seen it all. And this has made me all the more passionate about ensuring our people are properly considered from all angles.

Now it’s important to note, just like everything else I’ve embraced in life and with my career, I’m very open to flexing and adapting the methodology and tools applied depending on the situation. I’ve worked with clients who could afford the full scope of a change program and others who budgeted for something smaller and I have relentlessly designed a relatable and holistic approach for all.

Time to Get Started

My main message that I hope lands well with you today is that it doesn’t matter where you start in your change journey, all that matters is that you get there and please don’t stop after you feel you’ve arrived. I urge you to continue learning and growing along the way. I assure you that over the past several years, not only have I navigated the world of change, but I’ve stepped into new spaces, industries, meetings, and technology without historical knowledge, embracing each step with a smile and a question. I am learning every single day.

Stay curious and continue flying with me on this path into some of the greatest headwinds our generations have ever known!