Assistant Director 4 / Chief Transformation Officer - Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) - Ohio
(2021-07)
Report to the director of ODJFS. Responsible for leading and implementing innovative initiatives to improve customer experience and employee experience. Significant focus on clearer communications, simpler self-service digital experiences, and improving customer experience.
One of seven serving on the agency director's executive leadership team to guide, advise, and collaborate on complex agency strategy, policy, operations, initiatives, and decisions. Currently serving as one of three sponsors for implementation of the agency's largest technology modernization project for unemployment benefits and appeals. This system impacts unemployed workers, employers, and other stakeholders.
Responsible for guiding, monitoring, and recommending project decisions across internal teams and five vendors. Responsible for driving customer experience, human-centered design, and organizational change management to improve digital self-service, customer communications, and stakeholder training. Regularly collaborate with senior leaders and employees at all levels throughout the agency to launch new initiatives, implement projects, develop employees through training and project experiences, solve prob
- Facilitated voice of the customer feedback sessions, created customer surveys, conducted group interviews in alignment with human-centered design, gathered feedback on existing and new communications and digital designs, and wrote or improved key customer communications.
- Created an agency-wide Transformation LAB to engage over 350 employees in seven communities of practice to collaborate and share best practices to improve the ways we work and deliver better experiences for our customers.
These practices include: customer experience, data management and analytics, human-centered design, organizational change management, plain language, process improvement, and project management.
- In 2025 alone, over 200 employees were trained through our offerings in these key practices, with some of them going on to earn professional certifications.
- Recently recommended and successfully advocated to embed the transformational practices in the information technology governance structure by adding the practices to the required business case template for consideration and adoption of practices in projects.
- Created a cohort training structure for human-centered design utilizing a publicly available curriculum. ODJFS employees who were initially trained now serve as cohort facilitators. Over 100 employees have been trained through this cohort approach and many are being deployed to participate in agency projects.
- Recommended and successfully advocated for a third-party review of the unemployment insurance contact center operations. Led solicitation and proposal evaluations. Oversaw the work of the vendor and made directional decisions. The review resulted in 85 recommendations to improve call messaging, routing, performance measurements, and technology. The contact center recently achieved its highest customer satisfaction score and continues to improve as other recommendations are implemented.
- Contributed to writing requests for proposals, served on proposal evaluation teams to select vendors for multi-million-dollar projects, and assisted with determining contract specifications. Successfully guided the work of top-tier consulting firms to set direction and priorities, ensure alignment with agency goals and project timelines, make directional decisions for the project, approve work products, advise employee teams, and achieve the desired outcomes.
- Recommended and oversaw the creation of the agency's first Plain Language Guide to help employees create simple, clear communications. Also successfully advocated to have plain language skills and related training added to employees' performance evaluation goals.
- Continually drive skills training, capacity building, and innovation. As a result, over 30 projects across the agency have included requirements, goals, and an implementation approach to improve customer or employee experience.
- Recommended, recruited, and led five employee workgroups of 135 total employees to identify ideas for improving employee involvement, bottom-up innovation, rewards and recognition, knowledge sharing, and talent acquisition. The majority of the 24 employee recommendations were implemented and continue contributing to an improved culture.
- Created strategies and communications to improve culture and employee engagement through better communications, transparency, involvement in agency projects, feedback, career opportunities, and skills development. Improvement is reflected in employee responses to surveys.
- Oversaw three iterations of an all-employee organizational health index survey conducted by a premier consulting firm using their proprietary benchmarked survey. Recommended and implemented agency-wide initiatives to improve organizational performance and health. Created employee messaging, developed agency-specific survey questions, presented findings to employees, and advised senior leaders. Scores improved in eight areas where we enhanced communications, created new initiatives, or engaged em
- Recommended and created a bi-weekly all-employee virtual assembly to improve employee connection with the work, projects, and happenings of the agency. During the first 12 months, 11,600 attendees learned about 55 topics delivered by 50 recruited employee presenters.
- Recommended and wrote a series of "Director's Vision" statements to provide employees with additional insights and guidance on agency goals, priority initiatives, and ways of working.
- Oversaw and guided the transition of low-income energy assistance programs from another state agency to ODJFS. Organized employee workgroups to collaborate internally and externally for the implementation of this transfer. Directed organizational change management activities to enhance the experience of employees being transferred to a new agency. Also participated in the selection of the new director of this incoming program.
Deputy Director 4 and 6 - Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) - Ohio
(2016-07 - 2021-07)
As Chief of Strategic Initiatives, led the office of communications, equal opportunity, agency relations, and the Central Service Agency. As Deputy of Agency Operations, led the offices of employee services, finance, and legislative affairs. Throughout tenure, led the Central Service Agency that provided human resources and fiscal services to 25 state boards and commissions.
Provided strategic guidance to executive directors. Led decision making, consensus building, and stakeholder communications for the rollout of a statewide e-licensing system. Assisted board members with selecting their executive directors.
- Led the high-profile consolidation of ten state boards and commissions. Managed the overall process to comply with laws and policies. Communicated with impacted leaders and employees, wrote updates for legislators, prepared responses to the media, collaborated across multiple agencies, implemented change management readiness for employees, and reported project status and requirements to executive directors and board members. Handled multiple sensitive and confidential employee situations. Discre
- Recommended and led the transfer of a DAS division to a different state agency to better align with complementary public services. Negotiated the plan and terms of transition with the receiving agency, researched and drafted the statutory changes needed, wrote communications to employees and leaders, gained needed support from other agencies, and oversaw the planning and implementation of the actions required to execute the transfer.
Director of Marketing - Ohio Tuition Trust Authority / Ohio's 529 College Savings Plan - Ohio
(2012-09 - 2016-07)
Led successful marketing and communications strategies to grow investment contributions among existing investors and new accounts for Ohio's $9.5 billion college savings 529 plan. Managed a $4 million marketing budget. Served as one of six senior leaders advising the Executive Director.
