My passion lies in utilizing science, technology, and engineering to develop solutions that make a meaningful difference in people's lives. My core values serve as the foundation of my success, empowering me to tackle any obstacle that comes my way.

From a young age, I demonstrated a keen interest in analytics and logical thinking, which led to my love for science and math. This passion drove me to pursue a dual B.S. degree in Chemistry and Biophysics from the University of Connecticut.

After graduating, I joined Bristol-Myers Squibb, where I worked in drug discovery research as part of a team that aimed to improve collaboration between drug discovery and drug development. I gained a valuable perspective on the drug discovery process interacting with colleagues in biology, chemistry, animal studies, bioanalysis, toxicology, and formulations.

At Bristol-Myers Squibb, I was involved in a project to improve the process for managing animal study requests. We applied Lean Thinking principles and established a pull system, which highlighted the need for a custom data management application. Recognizing the potential for software in other areas of drug discovery, I pursued a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of New Haven.

I later joined Neurogen, a biotech company in Branford, CT, where I was able to apply my technical skills and drug discovery background to develop custom applications for their automation processes. We focused on quality, speed, and efficiency to facilitate rapid decision-making which contributed to the growth of their chemical library for drug discovery.

Motivated by the potential to impact hundreds of biotech companies in drug discovery, I joined Core Informatics as its first employee. This small startup specialized in data management for small biotech companies. My responsibilities encompassed all facets of the business, from initial client engagement and requirements gathering to deploying products. My contributions were instrumental in the company's transformation from custom web applications to Software as a Service and Platform as a Service.

At Core Informatics, we enabled clients to build their own apps on top of our platform by creating a robust API and SDK. Additionally, we implemented the concept of separate marketable applications that could be installed, configured, and tested independently to better address clients' specific needs and reduce customizations. One of our major technical achievements was making the platform available as a multi-tenant cloud offering, allowing the sales team to easily demonstrate and trial the platform. For existing clients, it provided a convenient environment for testing and development.

To support the rapid growth at Core Informatics, we introduced several new engineering initiatives. One of these initiatives involved implementing the Agile framework to improve the development process and provide transparency to clients. As I read through the Agile Manifesto, it resonated with me because our team had already been operating according to these values from the start. Our culture was founded on continuous improvement, learning from mistakes, and striving for success. We worked hard to maintain this culture as our engineering team grew and we formally implemented the Agile framework.

As we embraced the Agile framework, we made the decision to shift from a monolithic to a microservices architecture. This change enabled us to deliver features to clients more quickly and with higher quality. Breaking apart the application into independent microservices was a challenging process. We discovered that the transition to microservices was not solely about technology and architecture but also necessitated a shift in our team's approach to developing, organizing, and collaborating. I directed efforts towards the development of the first platform microservice, which provided an external WebAPI for accessing platform update and query capabilities. This microservice acted as proof of concept for the new microservices architecture.

Several years into the microservices journey, our company was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a provider of software services for the scientific community. As we integrated with Thermo Fisher, we implemented the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to support our larger development team.

During this time, I managed and mentored a team of Product Owners and served as a Product Owner on several initiatives. My primary focus was on maintaining our culture of Agile values and developing my team into confident, independent, and empowered leaders. Over time, my team exceeded expectations, and I felt like I could move on to a new challenge.

As the first employee at a startup, I experienced the thrill, challenge, and satisfaction of building something from the ground up. However, it came at a cost to myself and my family. With the success of the buyout, it felt like the right time to take a break, spend time with family and refuel for the next opportunity.

Currently, I work as a Solutions Architect at Ancera, a small biotech startup in Branford, CT. In this role, I am developing Cloud Native applications to create solutions for the food production industry.