Hi, I'm Lydia.
I'm passionate about technology, wellbeing, and art.
My background is in product management and technical program management. I also designed and taught a Yale course about "digital wellbeing" called Privacy, Health, and Power in the Age of Digital Over-Consumption. I have presented at conferences such as the Yale Leadership Forum, CocoaLove, the People at Work Summit, and Anita B.org's 28 Days of Tech Careers. Although I live near Washington DC, I have worked remotely for almost a decade. In my spare time, I enjoy making collage-paintings and glitch art.
My roles have included:
Product Management Program Manager
Qlik | Remote (MD) | Apr 2022 – Aug 2023
During my time at Qlik, I designed, implemented, and managed the Early Access Program (EAP). By working cross-functionally with 10+ departments, including Engineering, Legal, Release Management, and Go-To-Market, I designed a reliable process for early feature launches to Qlik Cloud. I worked with 15+ Product Managers to facilitate 40+ EAPs, granting hands-on experience to both internal (employees) and external audiences (partners and customers). As a result of my program, we caught 95+ bugs, documented feedback from 250+ stakeholders, and enabled 8+ internal trainings sessions. The EAPs spanned all cloud features, including data integration, data analytics, APIs & connectors, security & compliance, SaaS capacity-based pricing, NLP, AI, and ML. I documented How-Tos in 15+ documents and automated new procedures using Jira and Confluence, allowing us to scale from running just 1 EAP at a time to 10+ concurrently, thus supporting Qlik's objective of Continuous Release.
Director, Program Management
Reservoir Labs | Remote (MD) | Mar – Nov 2021
As director, I led a small team (1 direct report) that supported 50+ commercial, government (DOE & DOD), and IR&D projects. Our projects ranged from HPC, compilers, AI/ML, and networking, to algorithms, cybersecurity, analytics, and sensors/RADAR. While leading the Product Management Office (PMO), I successfully automated our Project Dashboard and revamped the company's standup schedule. I also implemented an Agile observation plan and a Jira training plan for all new hires. I managed the company's project pipeline, remedied 20+ discrepancies in Salesforce, documented 25+ customer testimonials, and developed a compliance/lockdown practice. On the side, I designed and led a Technology Crash Course for new hires and a Non-Technical Reading Group for my coworkers. During my time at Reservoir, I received 5 nominations for Employee of the Month.
Technical Program Manager
Reservoir Labs | Remote (NY) | Apr 2020 – Mar 2021
As the first hire in Reservoir's Program Management Office (PMO), I developed and documented an official process for onboarding projects, onboarded 10+ preexisting projects, worked with engineers to develop a new project planning tool, documented best practices for using tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Unanet, and uncovered 45+ sensitive files that needed to be relocated. After implementing these changes, I ran a company-wide survey to gauge satisfaction; 80% of respondents found PMO's work "helpful" or "very helpful."
Director, Customer Portal
Presidio | Remote (NY) | Jan 2016 – Oct 2019
As the product manager of Presidio's Vision customer portal, I prioritized 200+ enhancement requests and bug fixes, designed 8+ strategic initiatives to increase user adoption and retention, communicated release content to 450+ internal and external stakeholders, and coordinated User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for 10+ releases. I also developed marketing and RFP materials, consolidated usage analytics, reported on product performance company-wide, and represented the Vision team at 5+ conferences and events. In addition, I managed the user support team (3 direct reports), resolved VIP/C-Sat concerns, and served as liaison between upper management, customers, sales reps, and developers.
Coordinator, Customer Portal
Presidio | Remote (PA) | Jun 2014 – Dec 2015
As the sole admin of Presidio's Vision customer portal, I managed the tool's day-to-day operations, including onboarding for 500+ users, internal/external trainings, demos, documentation, third-party procurement platform integrations, bug resolution, and user support. During my time in this role, I successfully migrated the user base off of a legacy platform, trained 98% of Presidio's sales teams, and simplified the onboarding process by 87%.
Instructor, Yale Alumni College
Yale University | New York, NY | Feb – Apr 2020
Because my course Privacy, Health, and Power in the Age of Digital Over-Consumption was so successful with undergraduates, it found another home with 15 alumni at the Yale Club of New York. Feedback after the course included, "You are a superb teacher - clear, systematic, and down to earth," and, "You had absolutely every aspect of the class under control! You were so well organized and on top of things from beginning to end in every single session."
Lecturer & Associate Fellow
Yale University | New Haven, CT | Aug – Dec 2019
At Yale College, I designed and taught an undergraduate course called Privacy, Health, and Power in the Age of Digital Over-Consumption. We examined digital wellbeing through scholarly readings, primary sources in today's media, and the 12 students' own lived experiences. Instead of assigning traditional essays, I guided the students through building and presenting their first digital products.
