Shreshta Ravi, MA
People Analytics Manager and Recruiting Insights, Meta
My Job: I am currently at Facebook as a People Analytics Partner, helping our
internal People org with enterprise-wide programmatic and policy decisions that
impact the 35,000+ employee population it's grown to. It's hard to pinpoint one type of
thing I've done because I've been able to work on research that touches upon the
entire talent lifecycle with varying degrees of analysis approaches, and working and
learning alongside some of the smartest people in the process.
What I Liked about SPU: It was really a well-rounded program that helped establish
a solid foundation of I/O fundamentals and gave me the tools I needed to start
making an impact in my first job from day 1. The faculty! Everyone brought their
expertise to the classroom and it was evident you were learning from people who
knew what they were doing (Dr. Yost's Motivation course and Dr. Kendall's Program
Evaluation course were both exciting and terrifying at the same time).
First Role after Graduation: I worked as a Reporting Analyst at Ergometrics, a
selection assessment organization that developed and implemented assessments for
entry- level and experienced public safety officers (e.g.,firefighters, police officers,
etc).
Advice to Future Students: I strongly believe that one of the primary reasons I
enjoy my work and am able to work in this field is because whether or not I enjoyed a
project, team, or role that I was in at the moment. When I look back at that
experience, I know I took something away from it that may not have been fully
apparent at the time.
Scott Campanario, PhD
Senior Research Lead, ORS Impact
My Job: In my current role, I work in strategy and evaluation consulting with
social impact organizations at ORS Impact. My work supports organizations hoping
to articulate, refine, evaluate, and learn from their social impact strategies, and my
specialty is in strategy development consulting and helping organizations make
sense of and leverage complex data to inform their decision making.
What I Liked about SPU: The thing I liked most about SPU’s I-O program was the
sense of community and personal investment from the professors. Through the
program, I made lifelong friends who I stay in touch with often; I also know that I
wouldn’t be where I am in my career without their support and the investment from
our faculty.
First Role after Graduation: My first role out of SPU was as a consultant at a
small firm based out of Seattle called ORS Impact. We helped philanthropic and
other nonprofit organizations conduct organizational assessments and evaluate
their performance in terms of social impact.
Advice to Future Students: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Grad school is
hard – very, very hard – and you’ll be pushed to the edge of your comfort zone
whether by the sheer amount of work or by being asked to question what you think
you know. In either case, trust in the slow process of learning through that
discomfort.
Heather Blacketer, MA
Sr. Project Manager and IT Manager, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
My Job: Sr. Project Manager and Interim Manager in IT at the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. I manage cross-functional IT projects and manage a team of 6 other
project managers.
What I Liked about SPU: I liked the cohort model and the small size of my classes. I
really enjoyed the balance of academia and practical application of the work during
the program.
First Role after Graduation: My first role was as a consultant for a small local startup
consulting firm. I worked on projects for organizations in the Seattle
area, primarily doing roles in project management, organizational development, and
change management.
Advice to Future Students: Network, network, network! During my first quarter in the
program Dr. Yost told all of us that we should start networking far and wide and I was
super intimidated. I didn't actually start networking until I was a year into the program
and started really thinking about finding a job. You should start networking as soon as
possible.
Jake Redding, PhD
Organizational Effectiveness Practitioner, Meta
My Job: As organizations evolve to support the current and future needs of Meta, I
support in leading through change, developing talent, and designing solutions that
strive to build healthy and inclusive cultures at scale. In order to deliver on these
initiatives, I leverage my experiences in Leader, Team, and Organizational
Development from my current experience at Meta, as well as my past work with
Tesla and Google.
What I Liked about SPU: As I reflect on my time in SPU's I-O program, I really
appreciated the sense of community I had with both faculty and students. I was
rigorously challenged not only as an academic but as a practitioner, and that rigor
has thoroughly prepared me to continue evolving and growing as an I-O
psychologist, but even more so as a human.
First Role after Graduation: My first role out of SPU was transitioning from a
business role as Regional Operations at Tesla to being a Global Leadership
Development Partner on Tesla's Global Leadership and Talent Development team.
My focus was on leadership development strategy, including content development,
program evaluation, facilitation, and coaching for the Engineering, Manufacturing,
and Production functions.
Advice to Future Students: Don't try and make the program "easy". Take the more
challenging project, invest in the rigor, and embrace all the diversity of thought you
can in your SPU learning environment. This will only set you up better to be an
evolving and growing science-practioner for our ever changing workforce and world.
Mizuki Lekstan, MA
Analytics Business Partner, Meta
My Job: I lead the People Insights & Analytics initiatives to support the
sustainability and scalability of organization's people strategy. I am responsible
for strategy and development of people data and analytics as well as
conducting organizational research to understand employee experiences.
What I Liked about SPU: I learned key fundamental knowledge of the
organizational and human behavior from an I-O perspective. Additionally, I am
grateful for gaining many colleagues from the program and becoming part of the
I-O community!
First Role after Graduation: Organizational Development Analyst at Nintendo
of America. My responsibilities included identifying, tracking and analyzing
metrics to measure organizational effectiveness solutions. As well as leading
organizational initiatives such as talent management, leadership development
and employee engagement.
Advice to Future Students: Explore your opportunities! Our skills and training
can add value to the organization in so many ways.
Jackie Smith, MA
Workforce Planning, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant, Seattle Children's Hospital
My Job: In this new role I am helping to reshape and design systems that support
the development of our internal team members, as well as build new and
strengthen existing pipelines into the organization.
What I Liked about SPU: I really loved the courses I took on Program Evaluation
and Learning Systems & On-the-job development. At the time they helped me gain
clarity on what exactly I hoped to do after graduation; and after that they proved
useful in my day-to-day work. I very much appreciated the connections I made
with fellow students and the wonderful network for SPU I-O's who willingly accept
invites to informational interviews, idea exchanges, and meet-n-greets.
First Role after Graduation: I accepted a supervisor role at Seattle
Children's in nursing administration. In that role, I had the opportunity to lead a
group of program coordinators and other administrative professionals. Our team's
work supported the house-wide nursing programs and services, such as nursing
professional development, nursing quality, nursing informatics, and more.
Advice to Future Students: When you head out to the job market, be open to
experiences—and don't get hung up on titles or trendy office perks. Find a leader
who will advocate for you, give you opportunities to shine, and support you along
the way. Seek out teams that are inclusive, dynamic, and dedicated not only to
the work, but to one another.
Emily Pelosi, PhD
Head of Employee Listening, Intuit
My Job: In my current role, I drive Intuit’s enterprise-wide strategy for employee
listening, which includes company-wide surveys and an analytics program that
gathers active and passive data on the employee experience. My team’s primary
goal is to translate these data and insights into recommendations for senior HR
leaders that support our mission to enable employees to do the best work of their
lives.
What I Liked about SPU: SPU’s I-O program not only taught me the skills I
needed to be successful, but also how to apply them in a business context. I really
appreciated the emphasis on practical application coupled with scientific rigor.
First Role after Graduation: In my first role out of SPU I was an HR Analytics
leader for a Fortune 500 company. My role was to drive strategic decision making
by leading predictive analytics projects and consulting on talent management
initiatives using a data-driven approach. I worked directly with senior HR
leadership to address critical business questions and deliver insights regarding
performance, turnover, employee attitudes, and outcomes of learning and
development programs.
Advice to Future Students: Be open to new opportunities and don’t pass up a
chance for an informational interview. I didn’t discover my love for HR analytics
until I tried it!
Jon Kellerman, MA
Director of Organizational Transformation Operations, Nike
My Job: Lead a team of process experts that help Nike adapt its operating model to
the changing needs of customers. We work across the HR function to ensure the
information about jobs and employees reflects the desired future state of business
leaders.
What I Liked about SPU: I loved the focus on self-awareness! While there was a
strong emphasis on learning I/O domain content, understanding why you think/believe
something or why you agree/disagree was highly valued. I often ask myself "for the
sake of what?" when faced with important questions. I wouldn't have gotten that from
any other I/O program.
First Role after Graduation: I was employed as an Industrial Engineering Manager
at Boeing while I was in the program and when I finished. As such, I was responsible
for the growth and development of my employees. Presenting to, and working with,
program executives and ensuring production plans supported the program schedule.
Advice to Future Students: Be creative when it comes to your career; there is no
"normal" path. Be willing to be vulnerable with those who love and support you. Get
and keep a job during your time in the program, this will provide you the opportunity to
test the I/O theories and think critically about how I/O content shows up in the
workplace.
Lauren Stradford, MA
Senior HR Director, Microsoft
My Job: I am the HR Business Partner for our Commercial Chief Marketing Officer and I
manage a team of HR Business Partners who support the Marketing organization. My
team is responsible for designing and implementing HR strategies in alignment with the
business. These strategies include leadership development, leadership team
effectiveness, organizational diagnostics, as well as building a diverse and inclusive
culture.
What I Liked about SPU: I love the pragmatism of the program combined with theory
and research. The professors all have real world experience and you can see how the
research can be applied in a broad variety of roles.
First Role after Graduation: I was a recruiter while I was in school but after completing
the MA program, I was able to move into a HR Business Partner role even though I had
no experience in that space. The program gave me a great foundation for a HR
business partner role. Within 6 months of taking that role, I was working on a large
acquisition, doing talent management, and coaching senior leaders. All topics I had
learned about through the program!
Advice to Future Students: Stay connected to fellow students and other alumni. It's
been 10 years and the relationships I built through the program have been invaluable!
Farrah Kalotay, MA
Senior HR Director, Microsoft
My Job: At Nordstrom, I lead an awesome team that is re-imagining what talent
acquisition of the future looks like for about 55,000 roles annually.
What I Liked about SPU: The scientist-practitioner model the program is based
on means that what we learned, we had a chance to apply. I walked out of the
program with valuable skills that allowed me to research, develop a point of view,
and build strong plans.
First Role after Graduation: I was an HR Coordinator at Starbucks, supporting
Global HR Shared Services. The role was primarily administrative, but I was
fortunate to have a boss who was willing to take a chance on me and let me
facilitate some team interventions that led to a future opportunity. Since then, I
was able to gain experience in corporate positions at companies like McDonald's,
Amazon, Keurig, Nordstrom, and Robinhood.
Advice to Future Students: Be intentional about the mentors or "board of
advisors" you set up for yourself. Develop relationships, even when it feels
uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to contribute beyond your title -- you bring immense
value by virtue of what you've learned in the program and your ability to make it
practical!