What do the career path and the day-in-the-life look like for a Global Director DE&I, Engagement & Culture at Duck Creek Technologies?

We connected with Amy Bayer to find out!

Interested in learning more about Duck Creek Technologies and their job openings?  Make sure to check out their company page on VentureFizz!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I grew up in Northern Illinois, about 90 minutes from Chicago. My mom was a nurse and then moved into management roles within the healthcare industry. She initially got her nursing degree, which was typical at the time, and then she went back to school 30 years later to complete her Bachelor of Science degree. I have always been so proud of my mom - she is an excellent role model of professionalism, determination, and resilience.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to a small liberal arts college in the suburbs of Chicago - Lewis University. I double majored in Human Resources Management and Psychology. I began my freshman year knowing I wanted to work in the Human Resources (HR) field. I have enjoyed my career so far, which has been entirely in HR. Not many people can say they experienced their entire career within the same field they also studied at college. Human Resources has evolved so much over the years. My initial jobs were all in the manufacturing industry. I was a true HR generalist and did everything from recruiting to employee relations, and from benefits to the safety committees. I still remember many of my early learning lessons of do’s and don’ts in HR after all of these years.

What advice can you share that has contributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

I once heard this quote, and it has always stuck with me: “there are no elevators to the top; you have to take the stairs every time.” Throughout my career, I have found this to be entirely true. It is so critical to take every step so you can learn as you go, and there are no fast passes for life experiences and wisdom. I can be very impatient, and I have had to learn this lesson repeatedly. It is important to have patience and appreciation for where you are in your career journey -success will not always be linear. Every role throughout my career has had key learnings and takeaways that have helped me get to where I am today.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Global Director, DE&I, Engagement, and Culture at Duck Creek Technologies?

I am responsible for developing, leading, and executing the DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion), engagement, and culture strategy. I create enriching and engaging programs for all employees across the global organization. I strive to help drive the employee experience, shape the workplace culture, and build the corporate strategy of fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture that instills a sense of belonging.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

Some of the greatest success I have had in my career is never being afraid to reinvent myself and jumping into situations feet first. Be open to learning from different experiences, people, and places. Get wrapped up in learning from a podcast or a book, or even go back to school and take a class or get a certificate or degree. At work, raise your hand for projects and propose new ideas or roles within your team. Lean into putting yourself out there, being vulnerable, and feeling uncomfortable. Dream big. The payoff will be well worth it.  

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing? 

Coffee. I start my day by working out and then grabbing a coffee from Starbucks. I either take some time to reflect on my day or week ahead, or I take the coffee with me on a walk while listening to a podcast.

What time do you start working? 

I typically start anywhere between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. or earlier; it will just depend on the day and my meetings. We are a global company and I need to be flexible in meeting and collaborating with our teams in different time zones.  Morning hours are ideal for meetings, planning, and collaboration with our colleagues in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

What are three things that motivate you in your role? 

So many things motivate me! I genuinely love what I do and I love working at Duck Creek. If I had to narrow it down to just three things that motivate me, I would say:  I am given the independence to make decisions and build the DE&I, Engagement and Culture strategy and department, I have a leader who trusts me and I trust her, and I get to dream big and try new ideas.  Courtney Townsend, Duck Creek’s Chief People Officer, has been incredibly supportive of me yet challenges me in positive ways. She is the perfect leader for me.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

A typical day involves a lot of planning and collaborative meetings on new initiatives and DE&I programming. Another portion of my day consists of listening, observing, and keeping my ear to the ground. I need to have a good handle on what employees are feeling and experiencing. I have a no-door policy - I want to gather feedback and make myself accessible and learn as much as possible the organization and people.

What time do you typically wrap up the workday? 

I struggle with the “wrap-up” part of the workday. Over this past year, I have spent so much time building this department and creating programs and employee councils, etc. Everything we now have in place has been created by our dedicated team. The work I get to experience and undertake is so fulfilling and I enjoy investing my time in it because, in the long run, I know my efforts will all pay off.  

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

Typically, my husband and I cook dinner together and we eat as a family. Then, I usually go back and either finish some work for a couple of hours to set myself up for success for the next day, or I have schoolwork to do. I am also currently pursuing a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership.

Any productivity hacks?

Understanding your energy levels and knowing when to accomplish specific tasks is very helpful. My energy is the highest in the morning and I typically schedule the most complex or most detailed task then. I also think it is important to understand what tasks are draining to you or not energizing. Of course, there are some parts of our jobs we cannot completely avoid. The key is to be mindful of those draining tasks and figure out how to work best to accomplish them. Sage Milton, Duck Creek’s Social Impact lead, and I schedule a live Teams call to work on some of our more detailed duties. We work independently on the call, which helps us stay motivated and accountable for finishing the tasks we have been avoiding. 

What are the three apps that you can’t live without?

I do not think I can narrow it down to three, so I listed four apps that I can’t live without: the Mindbody app (since I am a planner I love to schedule my exercise classes), the Calendar app (yes, I love to plan and prepare), the Amazon Kindle app (I am a confessed book nerd), and lastly the Spotify app (so I can listen to more podcasts).  

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I am most proud that I have been able to return to the workforce 3½ years ago after taking a break to be a full-time parent for ten years. I felt like I had started all over and lacked confidence in myself.  I had wrapped up my identity in my kids and husband. As my kids grew older and needed me less, I did not know who I was anymore, what I was passionate about, and what gave me joy. Coming back to the workforce was an incredibly humbling experience. I have stretched myself over the last year, achieved some of my career goals, and returned to school.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

I have a couple of colleagues that I have worked with professionally in the last few years who I admire and call upon for professional advice: Katelyn David and Martine Williams to name a couple. I admire both for so many reasons. I have learned from them, and they have inspired me to do better. They have given me excellent advice and gentle nudging when I needed it most. They have always been encouraging and supportive. Everyone needs a Katelyn or Martine in their life.

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Helena Hamilton, Engineering Program Manager at Linus Health shares her story.

Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work? 

I grew up in San Francisco, California. I was a pretty nerdy kid - I read voraciously. I always say I was an urban “free-range” kid. From middle school on, when I would get out of classes for the day, I had 2-3 hours of free time when I would be on my own until time to meet my father at his office to go home. I roamed all over the city during those hours. Arcade games were new, so that was a favorite destination. Or I’d hang out at the beach or Pier 39. I’d stop by our church to practice the piano. Today, no one would let a child roam around a major city unsupervised like that but I stayed out of trouble. My dad worked for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, eventually becoming the Executive Director. My mom was a legislative analyst until I was about 13, when she began working full time for our church.

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating? 

I graduated from the University of Maryland in Adelphi, Maryland. My major was Computer and Information Science. Since by then I was already working in technology, I utilized my employer’s tuition benefit to pay for school and I stayed with them for a couple of years after graduating.

What inspired you to get into the tech industry?

I think you have to go way back to find the original inspiration. My kindergarten class had a terminal connected to the mainframe computer at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. From the time we got the terminal, I was obsessed. I played games, I learned to code in BASIC, I talked to a psychotherapy program called ELIZA and formulated odd questions to make her give responses we had never seen before. I hogged the computer so terribly that even when I wasn’t on it, the other kids would ask me if it was okay if they used my computer. This drove the teacher crazy because, of course, it wasn’t mine. But I sort of took ownership of it from day one.

What has your career path looked like in tech and the various positions you’ve held before joining Linus Health? 

I took a gradual, non-traditional path into technology. I started as a technical writer with a talent for automating Excel spreadsheets. One day, the AVP over the IT department came to me and asked for help with an Excel project no one on his staff had been able to figure out. It was a very fun project, so I worked on it every spare moment. In about two weeks, I had a working prototype and demonstrated it for him. About six months later, there was an IT opening and the AVP asked me to apply. I did, got the job, and have been working in tech ever since. 

I started as an entry-level software developer and over seven years, grew into a senior full-stack engineer. That employer was a healthcare company and my technical career has always focused on health information technology. Over time, I added project management to my toolbox and became PMI-certified. I was promoted to a software development manager and eventually became an IT director. I’ve worked in every sector of healthcare, in varied roles, from font-line engineer to IT executive.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as [Engineering Program Manager] at Linus Health?

I am an Engineering Program Manager at Linus Health, a digital health company focused on transforming brain health through earlier detection of brain disorders. I’ve been with Linus for about seven months and I’ve spent my time helping Linus to create and implement best practices for initiating and carrying out software projects in a heavily regulated environment (the main product at Linus is a medical device). This means creating a transparent, mission-driven process for deciding which projects to take on, carefully documenting technical requirements, ensuring traceability to prove the software has been thoroughly validated, and also streamlining the development process so that we are nimble and efficient.

To what do you attribute your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

I don’t think there is any one factor in my success. I started out blessed with a strong family and parents who invested in my development from day one. I’ve already mentioned early experiences that sparked an interest in technology. I’m a Christian, so I believe it was divine providence that I was in the right place for an IT Exec to bring me a request that demonstrated my aptitude for programming. And then I worked really hard. I started in tech in the 90s and back then it was common to work insane hours as a tech professional. 

Money for college was one hurdle. My company’s tuition reimbursement program, coupled with a small loan ended up paying for my degree at my local state university. Early on, as a working professional, I would sometimes run into negative preconceptions. I remember giving a software demo, and the client asked “Who was the programmer for this?” I responded that I was. “Yeah,” he said, “But who wrote the code?” It just didn’t compute that I was the software engineer behind this system. Fortunately, these days, a qualified black tech professional is no longer shocking. 

What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry? 

I’d encourage them to go for it. There’s a Bible verse that says “A person’s gift makes room for them” and nowhere is it more true than in technology. If you have the skills to solve a company’s problems, doors will open for you. Being in the tech field means a commitment to lifelong learning, since tools, languages, and methodologies tend to undergo major reinventions at least every 7-10 years. 

While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?

I think it would be extremely helpful to ensure that children from every background and socioeconomic class get an early exposure to technology and a chance to develop technical aptitude. This is especially true for girls, as technology is still often presented as a pursuit that is more appropriate for boys and men. Organizations like Black Girls Code can make a great difference and tech companies should support them. One school computer terminal changed my personal trajectory by showing me that working with computers is not only technically challenging, it’s super fun as well. 

Everyone is familiar with “Take your daughter to work day”; what if this kind of opportunity were more generally available? Tech companies could partner with local schools (especially those in underserved, underprivileged areas) to bring kids in for a day and get an introduction to what working in technology is like. Similarly, tech employees could volunteer in schools to be math, computing, and science tutors. That kind of partnership could be huge.

Here's your look at the latest hires and promotions across the tech community at Hometap, Devo, EDB, and Code Climate.

Did I miss your new employees? Send me an email with their name and details about their new role. I'll add them to next week's edition of Talent on the Move. 

Hometap

Eugene Wong

 

Chief Financial Officer at Hometap

Previously, Vice President of Strategy & Finance at Forward Financing

Hometap is hiring!

Devo

Kevin Zhou

 

VP, Data Science at Devo

Previously, Director Data Science, Machine Learning at PayPal

Chaz Lever

 

Senior Director, Security Research at Devo

 

Previously, Senior Research Scientist at Censys

 

Devo is hiring!

EDB

Chuen Jaklin

 

Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist at EDB

Previously, Recruiter at Coterie Insurance

Jim Gertz

 

Enterprise Account Executive at EDB

 

Previously, Account Executive - Major Accounts at Smartsheet

 

Alex Payne

 

Strategic Account Executive at EDB

 

Previously, Director of Sales at Gluent Inc.

 

Pablo Molina

 

Enterprise Account Manager - Spain & Southern Europe at EDB

 

Previously, Territory Manager - España & Portugal at Sysdig

 

EDB is hiring!

Code Climate

Kathleen Rohrecker

 

 

Senior Vice President of Marketing at Code Climate

Previously, Senior Vice President of Marketing at NS1

 

 

Episode #267 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Dan Manian - Co-Founder & CEO of Donut.

Market timing. It can destroy a business or it can be the greatest gift and the launchpad to massive scale and adoption. For Dan and the team at Donut, it was the latter.

While some companies saw an uptick over the past couple of years, the real challenge has been maintaining that growth when the tide changes.

The good news for Donut, is that remote and hybrid work are not going away anytime soon (if ever) and it’s this shift in terms of how we work that has kept up Donut’s momentum. The company’s Slack extension has ultimately replaced the watercooler chatter that would happen in the office and has been a key part for helping keep a company’s culture intact by connecting people internally no matter the working environment.

Based on Dan’s background, it is not a surprise that the company has built a product that creates value for users and can withstand market conditions. His background in product leadership and as a lecturer on lean startup methodologies are the perfect foundational blocks for building a market leading company.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

• Dan’s framework for naming a company which includes customer feedback and how they landed on Donut, plus how they secured the single word .com.
• A journey through Dan’s career in academia and product leadership roles at startups.
• Working with Steve Blank and how Dan got involved in the lean startup methodology.
• The full background story on Donut which includes lots of key decisions (like building on top of Slack), lessons learned along the way, and the explosive growth during the pandemic.
• His experience as a professional musician for Mobile Steam Unit which writes songs with a business theme.
• And so much more.

Here's your look at the latest hires and promotions across the tech community at Attensi, Zapata, Vestmark, Wellframe, BlueConic, Drift, SmartBear, Brightcove, Cybereason, Afficiency, and Interactions.

Did I miss your new employees? Send me an email with their name and details about their new role. I'll add them to next week's edition of Talent on the Move. 

Attensi

Tess Gorman

 

Account Executive at Attensi

Previously, Senior Sales Executive at athenahealth

Brian McKinley

 

Customer Success Manager at Attensi

 

Previously, Team Captain at Bottomline Technologies

 

Attensi is hiring!

Zapata

Jay Liu

 

 

VP of Product at Zapata

Previously, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy at JMA Wireless

Gregg Carman

 

Chief Revenue Officer at Zapata

 

Previously, Chief Revenue Officer at Nuvolo

 

Sebastian Morawiec

 

Quantum Software Engineer at Zapata

 

Previously, Software Developer at Sii Poland

 

Zapata is hiring!

Vestmark

Collin Schrier

 

Vice President, Direct Indexing Sales at Vestmark

Previously, Director, Asset Management Fund Sponsorship Sales at Magnifi by TIFIN

Vestmark is hiring!

Wellframe

Madhu Rajagopalan

 

VP, Head of Engineering at Wellframe

Previously, VP, Head of Engineering at Zipcar

Wellframe is hiring!

BlueConic

Patrick Reynolds

 

Chief Marketing Officer at BlueConic

Previously, Senior Vice President, Data and Services at Mastercard

BlueConic is hiring!

Drift

Andrew Arocha

 

Chief Revenue Officer at Drift

Previously, GVP North America, Oracle Marketing Cloud at Oracle

Drift is hiring!

SmartBear

Veronica Curran

 

Chief People and Culture Officer at SmartBear

Previously, Chief People Officer at Alumni Ventures Group

SmartBear is hiring!

Brightcove

Trisha Stiles

 

Chief People Officer at Brightcove

Previously, VP Employee Success Tableau at Salesforce

Brightcove is hiring!

Cybereason

Amy Linebarger

 

Salesforce Administrator at Cybereason

Previously, System Administrator at PrismHR

Cybereason is hiring!

Afficiency

Andrew Lobo

 

Chief Financial Officer at Afficiency

Previously, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Financial Officer at Kin Slips

Interactions

Peter Mullen

 

Head of Marketing at Interactions

Previously, Senior Vice President Marketing at Payactiv