Elizabeth Burgess

I've been in business well over 20 years. During that span of time, I was a land surveyor for 8 years. Then married and joined forces with my husband and built a mechanic business for 14 years. The recession hit and my husband passed, and I moved into the mortgage world where I stayed until recently, I decided to switch up my career path into the tech direction and now I am studying UX / UI design and Web design.

I've survived 5 Hurricanes, recession and several career path changes. I am a curious and have an appetite for growth and knowledge. My mission is to make a difference is someone's life no matter how big or small.

Sometimes a smile and a good morning or pay it forward in the coffee drive through. I am a very fast thinker and can manager unexpected curve balls as they come at me. I think having a network of people helps us be our best version of ourselves.

I believe we need to communicate with others daily and stay in touch with current events going on around us. As a minority in tech, I also feel like I need to represent women and advocate for us. This has been a man's world for a very long time and slowly I am seeing change and appreciate the awareness, inclusiveness and diversity of people around me.

I am passionate about helping the elderly and train support dogs in my spare time. I also enjoy gardening to keep work, personal life and balance zen. I start my day scheduled with a daily walk with my best furry friend Pote, make myself a light breakfast and coffee and jump with both feet on the floor as I get my day started on a positive note.

UI / UX design - currently in design course certificate program

• Willing to take on Intern or Junior roll for the right company
• Empathy Map -Persona- Accessibility- Framework -Hypothesis Statement-Value Proposition- Human Factor
• Convincing Stakeholders- Design Ideation
• UX wireframes- Research- Prototyping - Interaction design - Process design - Mock up - Design Thinking
• Project management - E- commerce
• Adobe Photoshop - Adobe Acrobat -Figma

Burgess Mobile Service - Owned -CEO- for 14 years

• Owning my own business gave me the knowledge what the customer and the business owner both wanted.
• We had a motto; “We come to you”! In a farming and nursery community like South Florida, there were not many mechanics going to the field to do the repairs on tractors, water pumps, on site fabrications, etc. 
• We created a niche in the market in our area which became well known and very busy. This was before apps and websites and the main communication was by phone. 
• We also had to keep the prices down enough to make a profit, but not scare away. 
• The majority of our business was from networking, referral, and repeat clients. 
• We made sure we were networking at public events like Good Friday service, Rotary meetings, dine in local restaurants and even have a beer at the local bar with the good ole boys of Homestead, FL.

Underwriter / Processor - 14 years

• Top items my customers look for and want me to deliver: Reassurance, Transparency, Simplicity, and Speed.
• Worked directly with customers and company software to make financial determinations based on supplied bank statements, paystubs, retirement, credit report, appraisal, title work and tax returns. 
• Transparency-Sometimes there are liens on the property, sometimes filed bankruptcy and sometimes widowed and no credit. Speaking with an elderly and having empathy in their situation where they are seeking liquid funds out of their house where there are no other funds available. 
• Reassurance- Delivering information with compassion if it's not the answer the customer wants to hear. Giving advice on next steps and strategies to comeback or sell their home or seek other advice. Most of the deals that fell through was because the loan officer did not discuss in detail everything up front and ask all the personal financial questions. 
• Simplicity- Having to explain where a co-worker failed expectations is not an easy situation but being honest and straight forward is the best. 
• Speed- Lastly, keeping a timeline and explaining the process to people in a way they can understand is crucial, so they feel comfortable and trust me throughout the process and me delivering what I say I will do.
• Not all people understand and process the same way and it is my job to be able to communicate the clearest to them. It is my primary goal in the end to save them time, money, and frustration.

Additional skills: Real estate, land survey, and legal description writing, mycology, master South Florida gardener, floral design, culinary skills, permit pulling, county applications, building, paving and drainage layout, flood maps, flood zone, FEMA, accounting, incorporated, business licensing, nmls, negotiations, retail e-commerce, Poshmark, FaceBook MarketPlace, cash handling and face to face customer, phone, and applications.

Online Certificate Program - UX design

Briarcliffe College- bachelor's in business administration

Le Cordon Bleu - Associates in Culinary Arts