How long have you worked in the public sector?
I served in agencies and departments of the Federal Government for over 25 years.
How did you get your start in the public sector?
Midway through college, I started questioning whether the traditional academic path was right for me. That led me to meet with a Marine recruiter. The discussion with the recruiter quickly turned to aviation and a pathway to flight school. After discussion with my family, I set out on a path to complete Officer Candidate School between my junior and senior year, and then commission in the Marine Corps after graduation.
I started training in fixed-wing aircraft in flight school, but I quickly found my true passion flying helicopters. My military service took me around the globe on multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. I have been fortunate to serve in numerous leadership roles, including several tours at the Presidential Helicopter Squadron.
Throughout my career I had the honor of flying Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and finally President Biden. I also had the opportunity to work in the White House for 4 years as the Director of the President’s Emergency Operations Center and as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for the White House Military Office. I completed my career as an Operational Test Director and Command Pilot for the next generation of Presidential helicopters.
What is your current role at SolarWinds?
Today, I serve as a senior staff member of the revenue operations team, primarily supporting the Public Sector business unit and bridging connections throughout the broader SolarWinds organization. I am also the Site Lead for our Reston, Virginia office, home to many of our public sector team members. I joined SolarWinds in 2022 through the Hiring Our Heroes program, which provides service members a pathway to transition into civilian careers.
What does a typical day in Operations look like?
Operations work is dynamic and wide-ranging daily. I analyze trends in data, support compliance initiatives, align sales & product teams to emergent public sector rules and regulations, and train and coach our teams. But the part I love most is working directly with customers and partner ecosystem.Throughout my career, everything I’ve done has been mission focused. That perspective helps me quickly relate to and understand our customers’ goals and challenges, and work alongside them to deliver real results.
Which skills from your military background are most valuable in your role today?
Operational planning tops the list. I also lean heavily on my experience in leadership, strategic planning, and goal setting.Outside of work, I’m an IRONMAN athlete and a USA Triathlon certified Level II coach. Coaching is a personal passion of mine, and it complements my professional skill set. Whether in the military, athletics, or business, helping teams perform at their best is what drives me.
What’s your favorite SolarWinds product and why?
Our new SolarWinds® Observability Self Hosted for Federal is an amazing product that combines the power of observability with specialized support for our federal customers, but my heart belongs to our suite of tools products. SolarWinds was founded on a simple accessible host of desktop tools built to help engineers automate processes and save time. From our Engineer’s Toolset to Kiwi Syslog® Server, our tools provide powerful capabilities at economical costs. As a pilot, I feel those features resonate; in the cockpit, simple critical tools that help you understand what’s happening in your environment and alert you before an issue becomes critical are essential. It’s no different for our customers managing complex IT environments.
What drives your continued commitment to the public sector?
For me, it always comes back to the mission.
I started in the defense space, but every agency, military or civilian, has an important mission. Take the USDA, NIH or Department of Energy, for example: their missions support essential functions for Americans every day that we take for granted. That may seem far removed from combat operations, but it’s equally important to the functioning and strength of our country.
Helping our customers achieve their mission, whatever it may be, is what motivates me every day.
