Certified Lean Six
Sigma Black Belt
104 John
Street, Newport, RI 02840
401-849-6511
(desk) | 401-835-3674 (cell)
karen.nash0830@gmail.com
career summary
As a Lean Six Sigma manager, I’ve added value,
championed productivity, and promoted excellence for over 20 years in multiple
industries, including Department of Defense, public and quasi-public state
agencies, offshore manufacturing, and yacht building. I always listen for the
Voice of the Customer, who is both the next person to whom I pass my work, and
the final recipient.
As a team member, leader, and facilitator, I
foster collegiality and respect within our groups, sparking creativity and
building productive business relationships. I’m at ease speaking with groups of
all sizes, and serve on boards for several organizations.
professional employment
From 2009 to the present, I have
provided advisory, upgrading, and troubleshooting consultation to a variety of
business clients as a freelance database subject matter expert,
doing business as Wildcat Consulting.
As a Vestry officer at Trinity
Episcopal Church, Newport, RI (2006 – present, pro bono):
During a period of financial and
organizational crisis, I provided support and guidance to the leadership of an
historic flagship parish with a landmark church building of national
significance, as we worked to pull the organization from the brink of
insolvency.
- Applying Six Sigma and Lean tools, I helped to streamline business functions, and to facilitate decision-making processes.
- I introduced the concept of change management and stakeholder analysis, processes not always well understood in the context of church business.
- As a review panel member, I aided in selecting feasibility consultants for a proposed capital campaign in 2012, and actively participate in the feasibility study now underway.
- With fellow Vestry officers, finance committee members, and financial staff, I participate in monthly in-depth financial reviews, helping to ensure the budget continues to be balanced and the draw on endowment remains within limits.
As project analyst for Gryphon Technologies LC
(6/2010 – 8/2010),
- Using advanced querying methodologies, I analyzed research data to develop recommendations for implementing Item Unique Identification (IUID) and
- Produced a whitepaper outlining process development, design, and implementation of UID compliance for submarine towed array components for the Naval Surface Warfare Command for DoD compliance.
As project manager/coordinator for Electronic
Data Systems (4/2006 – 1/2009), prime contractor for the Navy Marine Corps
Intranet deployment (NMCI), and EG&G Technical Services (7/2004 –
3/2006):
- I managed multiple concurrent and overlapping projects at two major Navy bases in the Northeast, encompassing delivery of infrastructure, hardware, and software.
- As a data analyst, I created tools to consolidate and mine data from large data sets, channeling the results to meet deadlines, resolve conflicts, and report analysis results to all levels of operations in record time.
- I led a cross-functional project team, comprised of leaders of other teams in various functional areas, supporting one another to deliver our projects within the constraints of quality, schedule, budget, and scope.
As program analyst/senior software developer with
Systems Resource Management (1997 – 2004), I designed and built a number
of major database applications, some of them web-based, for the State of Rhode
Island. I was the de facto project
manager and business analyst on most of these initiatives, as well as being the
lead developer. As a business analyst, my skill in determining and meeting
customer requirements in sometimes ambiguous conditions contributed
significantly to the success of these projects. Some highlights:
- Consolidating the operations of the Motor Carriers Division of the Public Utilities Commission;
- Migrating the RI Secretary of State’s Corporations database from a vintage Wang system (requiring extensive data transformation and scrubbing);
- Replacing the Parole Board’s aging Clipper hearing application with a tabbed interface that merged multiple-source candidate data into a single screen for board hearings;
- Automating the Department of Labor and Training’s annual budget preparation process, as well as their monthly FTE report and other financial operations;
- Creating a web-based pre-application screening process for the RI Student Loan Authority, allowing college admissions staffers to enter basic applicant data and receive a go/no go response from the credit bureau within 5 minutes.
As operations manager for Ronaco International
(1989 –1996), I gained valuable experience in supply chain and logistics
for offshore manufacturing. I added value to the company’s operations by:
- Designing and building a ground-up electronic management system to replace original handwritten/typewritten system, and introducing an electronic bookkeeping system with financial reporting.
- Coordinating and expediting flow of materials and subcontractor deliveries to port of departure for US-based multi-national manufacturer.
- Instituting electronic data transfer for freight consolidation, exportation, and re-importation, enhancing productivity and cost effectiveness of foreign operations.
- Tightening regulatory compliance methods, expediting customs transit.
- Accelerating oversight of cargo flow, reducing losses and delays in Central America.
In
prior work, I gained significant supply-chain, logistics, and material-handling
know-how during 12 years in the marine trades as purchasing director for builders
of a wide range of production and custom yachts, from sail and power cruising
boats to world-class one-off racing sailboats for Solna Corporation, Aries
Powercraft, Williams & Manchester Shipyard, and Shannon Boats. During this
period, my need for computerized inventory control and purchasing systems
responsive to accounting needs sparked my first database programming projects.
tech tools
- I am technically proficient with all applications in the MS Office Suite, including Project and Visio; as a user, I’m familiar with MS Project Server and MS Sharepoint. In addition, I am an Access expert and am fluent in VBA, which enables me to build sophisticated tools on an ad hoc basis to expedite and refine data analysis.
- As a Six Sigma Black Belt, I am trained in the entire spectrum of Six Sigma statistical tools, including sophisticated financial analysis.
- As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), I have both training and experience in all aspects of business and financial processes.
certifications, professional affiliations,
and education
- Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) May 2011
- Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt January 2010
- Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI)
- University of Phoenix, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, 2007
- Rhode Island School of Design, continuing education (silversmithing, bronze foundry, welding & metal fabrication)
- Mary Washington University, undergraduate in fine arts
No comments:
Post a Comment