Communications & Biopharmaceutical Experience

My 20-year career in public relations began at Schwartz Communications (now part of MSL, a global firm). I gravitated quickly to serving clients in the healthcare industry and developed strong technical skills such as media relations, strategic planning and content development. A passionate advocate for my clients, I took pride in building awareness of the purposeful breakthroughs these companies worked hard to bring to fruition. Over time I ascended into leadership roles and recognized that it was well-developed communication and relationship-building skills, such as active listening and collaborative problem-solving that propelled my success at this level.

Serving as Director of Product Communications at Alkermes, a global biopharmaceutical company, I deepened my understanding of the biotech industry, earned the respect of colleagues and served as a trusted adviser to senior leaders, including those in the C-suite. Relevant to much of the work I do with Leadership Journey clients, I developed a greater appreciation of the value that comes from cross-functional collaboration and best practices for building consensus at senior levels in an organization.

Launching Leadership Journey

Like many people, I identified a career path in my early 20s. Joining the PR/Communications industry was exciting. I worked hard, learned as much as I could from those around me, and ascended the career ladder. Throughout these years, I was fascinated with the massive impact different leadership styles had on employee experience and performance. After participating in a few leadership workshops - for the first time in my life - I felt like I had found my calling. I became certified as an executive coach, and soon after launched Leadership Journey.

Commitment to Growth

A champion of ongoing learning and development, I trained with the Center for Executive Coaching to learn powerful coaching techniques. The value gained from this program is a huge benefit for clients. It’s given me a whole host of valuable tools and skills I incorporate into Leadership Jouney programs and engagements.

I am aPHR- (Associate Professional in Human Resources) certified. Preparing for this exam expanded my knowledge of the core principals and disciplines within the HR function, deepening my understanding of the HR perspective in various workplace situations. This is particularly helpful to engagements in which I partner closely with hiring managers and Talent Acquisition leaders.

I am certified on Insights Discovery, a behavior preference tool used by many biotech/healthcare organizations; and also on the Smart Collaboration Accelerator (SCA) assessment. These are helpful tools to gain insights and self-awareness about strengths and blind spots. I use them 1:1 with leaders, as well as with entire teams to foster team development and collaboration.