Resume 

Summary

Director of Customer Experience (CX), Customer Support, and Customer Success with 14 years of leadership building, stabilizing, and scaling customer-centric operations and service delivery for small-to-midsized high-growth SaaS/Technology companies in Analytics, E-commerce, Managed Services, and Internet/Web.


Exemplary talent in website design, branding, creating wireframes, journey maps, user flows, storyboards, process flows, data dashboards, and business collateral —a visual thinker and communicator. 


Team leader & Coach. Outstanding ability to assemble, inspire, and lead client-facing teams, from Presales and Sales to Training, Support, and Renewals. Practiced at leading with head, heart, and hands.

Expertise

Customer Experience

Voice of the Customer

Product Support

Customer Success

SaaS vendor Assessments

Technical Implementation

Customer Advocacy

Presales Strategy

Website Design

Business Consultation

Service Delivery

Procedural Guides & Knowledgebases

Self-Serve Support

Ticket Management

Request Prioritization

Client Escalations

Team Management

Client Presentations

Client QBRs/Meetings

Kickoff Calls

AWS Cloud Practioner Certification

Client Communication

Product Feedback Loops

Product Adoption

Use Case Analysis

Mockups/Wireframing

User Flows

Logo/Branding Development

SAFe scaled agile framework

Journey Mapping

Feature Development & Prioritization

Customer Insights


Work Expereince

Principal Small Business Consultant


Workroom Creative    1.2016-Present 



  • Helping clients succeed by leveraging deep and wide experience in design thinking, business strategies, marketing approaches, & technology systems
  • Proven client support/success, and team leadership and an ability to apply creative solutions to complex challenges
  • Dedicated to bringing business and customer perspectives into relevant conversations about how to work towards climate-positive solutions


Practice Director, Managed Services « Senior Manager « Manager


Cprime,  Inc.   10.2020-Present


  • Positively transformed Managed Services practice by implementing agile policies for team management, client presales, retention, and renewals, and interdepartmental communication.
  • Developed cadence and notifications for engaging leads, increasing the conversion rate to a consistent 25%-30% across 10-15 national sales reps.
  • Injected rigor into the Project Management and Delivery process, including kickoff call within 2 days and standard QBRs for all ~50 enterprise clients.
  • Introduced a 90-day proactive renewal framework and formalized price structure to halt attrition and seize upsell opportunities on all contracts.
  • Unified client communication across Delivery, Sales, and Success to reset client expectations and monetize out-of-scope offers, consistently increasing account value up to 30%.
  • Architected feedback loops with Infrastructure Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, and Tool Administration Teams, leading to increased CSAT and retention.


Vice President of Customer Success & Marketing


OnLink   10.2018-11.2019


  • Established customer-centric operations for golf analytics startup in preparation for John Deere buyout.
  • Partnered with CEO to segment client base, build tailored analytics capabilities, and isolate top 10% strategic accounts to dramatically increase product adoption.
  • Implemented proactive customer engagement strategy via website redesign, semi-automated email campaigns, and at-least monthly calls, elevating CSAT for 100+ accounts.
  • Enhanced SaaS UX by solidifying partnership between Customer Success, Product, and Engineering teams, and creating high-fidelity wireframes to convey customers’ feature requests.
  • Drove M&A due diligence on product roadmap, case studies, and customer data linked to engagement, CSAT, and volume.



Director of Customer Support & Success  «  Customer Support Supervisor  «  Support Specialist


Zenfolio   08.2010-10.2018


  • As fourth Support hire, built, scaled, and ran customer programs to meet the needs of 100,000+ SMBs.
  • Grew Success & Support to 30+ team members delivering unprecedented CSAT scores (92%:chat, 99%:phone, 85%:email); created semi-annual goals and facilitated weekly metric and monthly performance reviews to stay on target.
  • Created a standalone Customer Success team focused on client training and live support with screen sharing, boosting product adoption 60% across the board.
  • Launched client-facing resources, including in-product guides, YouTube channel with 200+ videos, and a self-serve knowledgebase with 300+ articles – reducing incoming tickets 20%.
  • Deployed and trained staff on Salesforce CRM with Live Chat and Ring Central integrations. Defined KPIs and metrics operationalized through these systems.
  • Globalized service offerings, including localizing guides/articles in Spanish, French, and German as the international customer base expanded.
  • Forged trusted internal alliances with Marketing, Engineering, and Product teams, attaining buy-in for Success & Support via data-driven presentations and reporting.


Technical Support Specialist


LiveBooks   10.2008-04.2010

  • Solved technical and aesthetic/design issues related to web-hosting SaaS platform for photographer clients.
  • Standardized and unified Support by authoring wiki-based process documentation.
  • Took the lead on training new employees.

Education

Master of Fine Arts   Concentration in Photography & Digital Imaging


Maryland Institute College of Art   2005

  • Pre-college Course Instructor
  • Teaching Assistant
  • Video/Photo LabTechnical Assistant
  • Grad Photo Departmental Lead


Bachelor of Fine Arts Concentration in Photography 


Wayne State University   2003

  • Research Assistant for Professor Guy Stern
  • Additional concentration in German language & cultural studies
  • School Newspaper Photographer
  • Graduated Magna Cum Laude (w/ honors)



View Portfolio

Portfolio & Projects

From fine art and photography to website and logo design, data dashboards, interface mock-ups and business presentations, my passion for designing and communicating visually is expansive. 


View Portfolio
A black and white drawing of a person 's head with a brain in it.
A heart with a heartbeat inside of it on a white background.
A pair of hands holding a gear in their hands.

Summary


Director of Customer Experience (CX), Customer Support, and Customer Success with 14 years of leadership building, stabilizing, and scaling customer-centric operations and service delivery for small-to-midsized high-growth SaaS/Technology companies in Analytics, E-commerce, Managed Services, and Internet/Web.


Exemplary talent in website design, branding, creating wireframes, journey maps, user flows, storyboards, process flows, data dashboards, and business collateral —a visual thinker and communicator. 


Team leader & Coach. Outstanding ability to assemble, inspire, and lead client-facing teams, from Presales and Sales to Training, Support, and Renewals. Practiced at leading with head, heart, and hands.


Work Experience



Principal Small Business Consultant


Workroom Creative    1.2016-Present 

  • Helping clients succeed by leveraging deep and wide experience in design thinking, business strategies, marketing approaches, & technology systems
  • Proven client support/success, and team leadership and an ability to apply creative solutions to complex challenges
  • Dedicated to bringing business and customer perspectives into relevant conversations about how to work towards climate-positive solutions



Practice Director, Managed Services « Senior Manager « Manager


Cprime, Inc.  10.2020-Present

  • Positively transformed Managed Services practice by implementing agile policies for team management, client presales, retention, and renewals, and interdepartmental communication.
  • Developed cadence and notifications for engaging leads, increasing the conversion rate to a consistent 25%-30% across 10-15 national sales reps.
  • Injected rigor into the Project Management and Delivery process, including kickoff call within 2 days and standard QBRs for all ~50 enterprise clients.
  • Introduced a 90-day proactive renewal framework and formalized price structure to halt attrition and seize upsell opportunities on all contracts.
  • Unified client communication across Delivery, Sales, and Success to reset client expectations and monetize out-of-scope offers, consistently increasing account value up to 30%.
  • Architected feedback loops with Infrastructure Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, and Tool Administration Teams, leading to increased CSAT and retention.



Vice President of Customer Success & Marketing


OnLink  10.2018-11.2019

  • Established customer-centric operations for golf analytics startup in preparation for John Deere buyout.
  • Partnered with CEO to segment client base, build tailored analytics capabilities, and isolate top 10% strategic accounts to dramatically increase product adoption.
  • Implemented proactive customer engagement strategy via website redesign, semi-automated email campaigns, and at-least monthly calls, elevating CSAT for 100+ accounts.
  • Enhanced SaaS UX by solidifying partnership between Customer Success, Product, and Engineering teams, and creating high-fidelity wireframes to convey customers’ feature requests.
  • Drove M&A due diligence on product roadmap, case studies, and customer data linked to engagement, CSAT, and volume.




Director of Customer Support & Success « Customer Support Supervisor « Support Specialist


Zenfolio  08.2010-10.2018

  • As fourth Support hire, built, scaled, and ran customer programs to meet the needs of 100,000+ SMBs.
  • Grew Success & Support to 30+ team members delivering unprecedented CSAT scores (92%:chat, 99%:phone, 85%:email); created semi-annual goals and facilitated weekly metric and monthly performance reviews to stay on target.
  • Created a standalone Customer Success team focused on client training and live support with screen sharing, boosting product adoption 60% across the board.
  • Launched client-facing resources, including in-product guides, YouTube channel with 200+ videos, and a self-serve knowledgebase with 300+ articles – reducing incoming tickets 20%.
  • Deployed and trained staff on Salesforce CRM with Live Chat and Ring Central integrations. Defined KPIs and metrics operationalized through these systems.
  • Globalized service offerings, including localizing guides/articles in Spanish, French, and German as the international customer base expanded.
  • Forged trusted internal alliances with Marketing, Engineering, and Product teams, attaining buy-in for Success & Support via data-driven presentations and reporting.



Technical Support Specialist


LiveBooks  10.2008-04.2010

  • Solved technical and aesthetic/design issues related to web-hosting SaaS platform for photographer clients.
  • Standardized and unified Support by authoring wiki-based process documentation.
  • Took the lead on training new employees.


Education


Master of Fine Arts  Concentration in Photography & Digital Imaging


Maryland Institute College of Art  2005

  • Pre-college Course Instructor
  • Teaching Assistant
  • Video/Photo LabTechnical Assistant
  • Grad Photo Departmental Lead



Bachelor of Fine Arts Concentration in Photography 


Wayne State University  2003

  • Research Assistant for Professor Guy Stern
  • Additional concentration in German language & cultural studies
  • School Newspaper Photographer
  • Graduated Magna Cum Laude (w/ honors)


Climate Philosophy

Climate-positive work is no longer optional.

Climate-positive work is both a business and customer-first position.

Climate-positive work is personal.

It is, of course, overwhelmingly clear that we are in a transformational  time and I (along with so many others) have made a firm commitment to take urgent, thoughtful climate-positive action. For me, it starts at a deeply personal level with my individual daily choices to do less harm. From there, I would like to expand my climate-positive influence through professional choices.


I believe that we must work towards making all work in all industries more climate conscious. There are rapidly expanding markets for climate-positive businesses, technologies, and solutions. I look forward to contributing my expertise to this robust and growing field in order to increase the momentum that is currently underway, help businesses that are leaning into the sector, and support the clients of those organizations .

 Through my experiences camping and backpacking (from the backcountry of Alaska to the Texas desert - from the lakes of Minnesota to the forests of Nova Scotia and more) I have come to discern a tiny fraction of how all systems (including human systems) are interconnected, interdependent, and influential for good or bad.


I have enthusiastic interest in:

  • food and waste cycles: from growing my own hydroponic food to advocating for municipal composting and participating in new recycling initiatives, I believe there is potential for large improvements in our current system(s).
  • data measurement tools: in order to understand the human impact on the climate, I believe it is very helpful to start by measuring what we use. Tools that can optimize of tractor routes via GPS or measure methane emissions by industry or reduce energy consumption in a targeted way can help move the needle.
  • native species plant gardening: yes, I am a plant nerd through and through. From midwest prairie grasses to unfurling fern fronds and the magnificence of trees, I find daily inspiration from these lifeforms.
  • natural world photography: images that convey the stunning forms of nature have a positive impact by helping people feel connected and inspired by the complexity of life on earth


As a husband, brother, son, and especially as a father, I am deeply cognizant of the need to make climate action a priority. I want to help design solutions that take the tiniest step towards recognizing geologic time and find ways to improve the outcome not just for my children and grandchildren but for the next 10,000 generations.



Solving customer, product, and business problems through a climate lens is not only possible, it is good for business and good for customers.


Being climate-positive does not mean that businesses or customers have to compromise. In fact, by embracing both there are wins all around - the business, the climate, the employees, the customers.


Not only is it inherently marketable as good news without the need to 'greenwash', it is the right thing to do. It embraces long-term thinking while solving both short- and long-term challenges. Services can be designed and customer problems addressed through a climate positive lens/approach.  Value can be added through embracing a simultaneous climate- and  customer-first model.

Design Approach

My lifelong experience as a visual solutions-finder allows me to view problems from a design first perspective. Design for me, broadly speaking is about putting into place the teams, systems, processes, products, actions that will provide the desired strategic outcome. This strategic outcome-based thinking has been widely applied across industries and sectors with climate-positive companies and products being no exception. 


The power of design thinking includes the ability to visualize all parts of a system, solution. It includes the ability to iterate not only on specific parts of a system (to identify a weak link) but also to zoom out and iterate on changes to the overall system or process.


The goal of my personal art, design, and photography has always been to solve the conceptual problem of the picture. In other words, not just the formal aspects of how an image is balanced but what ideas lie behind the image. What, for example is it not showing? How is it framed and what decisions did the designer make in order to successfully 'solve' the problem of making an image that communicates elegantly and efficiently. 


Design should strive to; include research, keep the user at the center, have a climate-positive impact, reduce overall impact by looking at problems (existing or new) in a new way, increase awareness and empathy (designers are communicators!) and provide possible solutions through visual/design choices.



Inspiration