Please tell us about your professional background.
I went to Kent State University and was originally pursuing a degree in nursing. I quickly realized that nursing was not my passion. One day my sorority was throwing an event and they asked me to help plan it for them. I immediately fell in love with it. After I organized my first event, I got a lot of positive feedback and saw how happy everyone was with the job I did, and it just made me fall in love with the whole process even more. Shortly after, I switched my major to hospitality management.
In college I worked at a local vineyard doing wedding planning. I started as an intern then got offered a full-time position before I graduated. I did that for about a year then accepted a Tradeshow Coordinator position at a company that manufactures welding equipment.
I worked there for several years and was promoted to marketing manager. Now, I didn’t have a background in marketing, but I was able to learn on-the-job. Flash forward to about two years ago Velo3D approached me for a field marketing position. The open position consisted of all my favorite responsibilities that I was no longer executing as a marketing manager, plus I was fascinated by what the company was doing. I also saw it as a good opportunity to progress in my career and further my professional skills.
Tell us a little bit about your day-to-day at Velo3D?
It’s not uncommon for me to feel like I’m doing a million different tasks! It might be a little cliché to say but there is never a dull moment! A big part of my role has me working closely with both the sales and business development teams, and just the broader commercial organization on the many different elements that go into planning and executing an event or tradeshow.
For example, I often work with each team to determine what venue we want to book, what industry events we want to attend, and what parts we want to have on display. This is probably my favorite aspect of my role. I like collaborating with my peers, so I like to get their input on things like booth layout and themes, and even smaller details like what our giveaway items are.
And then there is the backend stuff like updating the team on milestones, how many leads we get from each event, the ROI we achieved and so on.
How would you describe the culture at Velo3D?
I would have to say very collaborative. At my last job, it felt like pulling teeth to try and come up with fun new ideas for events or even how we could improve. But at Velo3D, everyone is so smart and knowledgeable and so passionate about what we’re doing as a company. There is genuine excitement, especially among our commercial teams, about additive and how [Velo3D] is disrupting the industry.
Probably my due dates! I have a lot of things that need to get done by a certain date, so that’s certainly a driving force for me. Also, the creative side of my job is very motivating. After an event, often people will come up to me and say what an amazing job we did. That not only makes me feel good, but it also drives me to hit another level and do even more.
I also really appreciate constructive criticism. I think it makes you a better person to hear things that will help you improve. I love asking the attendees what they would like to see at our events. Their feedback is important, and we always try our best to better understand what their needs are.
What in your opinion differentiates Velo3D from other additive manufacturing solutions?
I love the attitude of our team. They’re not trying to “sell” people a product; they’re really trying to help people learn and understand how our technology can help them overcome the manufacturing challenges they’re facing. Sometimes, our technology isn’t a right fit, and they aren’t afraid to admit that. It’s all about helping the customer, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for that approach.
What has been your favorite project so far?
Probably RAPID + TCT last year where we debuted the Captain AM shield. It was a new feature part, and we made sure the theme of our booth and happy hour tied into it. Everyone was really excited and we even had Zach Walton dress up as “Captain AM”.
It was such a fun event, and I loved seeing people walk up to a booth and being shocked to find out the shield was as-printed, and then holding the shield themselves and just being so enthralled by it.
I’m very adventurous. I like exploring and traveling, I especially love to travel internationally. Every vacation with my family I’m the planner. Some of my favorite places I have been to are Greece and Portugal. As for hobbies, I like anything that lets me be creative. I recently bought a new house, so I had a lot of fun helping with the design and decorating and just doing things I’d never done before like building custom furniture.
My pleasure!
