Reclaim Hosting

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Remote | 2019 – 2023


I wore many hats in my role as Director of Operations for a small, higher ed web hosting company. These responsibilities include overseeing daily activities for internal teams and ensuring that the company is actively working towards long-term business objectives. I established guidelines to mitigate business and IT security risks, and I helped assess feasibility of new product updates based on staffing and financial resources. I wrote SOPs, ran internal professional development, and onboarded team members to comply with internal workflows and performance metrics.

I was the point of escalation for company-wide projects, employee, and customer matters to strengthen client relationships and clear obstacles. Reclaim Hosting is fully remote company, so fostering an engaged and collaborative working environment that encourages employee growth, happiness and healthy work/life balance was a top priority for me.

Lastly, I kept an eye on overall branding for the company to ensure that language/experience was consistent with larger mission. This included drafting public announcements, keeping high standards for customer support experience, and leading national conferences for colleges and universities to connect around digital web tools and trends in higher ed. I also quite enjoyed maintaining the design and layout of the main company website, reclaimhosting.com.

ACCOUNT MANAGER
Remote | 2018 – 2019


Created new business development strategies to generate sales leads and expand prospect understanding of the company. Developed sales pipeline and integrated CRM software to monitor sales progress, client history, and boost company revenue. Launched new service offering that increased revenue by $82.5K.

Secured high-value accounts through consultative selling, effective customer solutions, and polished workshops. Successfully managed 65% of all high-value contract accounts (159 of 250) including Dartmouth College, Princeton University, and Georgetown University.

Tracked emerging trends and suggested enhancements to both challenge and refine company's product offerings. Developed engaging training and onboarding materials for customers, products, and services.

OPERATIONS MANAGER
Fredericksburg, VA | 2015 – 2018


As the first hired employee, my role was integral in defining internal procedures as the startup company evolved. I established key workflows, outlined the scope of new positions, and onboarded initial personnel.

I worked to translate the ideas of company owners into achievable action plans, and helped devise best sales and support practices, define performance metrics, and grow initial customer base. I conceptualized and designed company website, and researched foundational tools for banking, insurance, project management, HR policies, and customer support.

I also sat firmly in customer support wherein I learned technical troubleshooting skills in cPanel and LAMP server environments, as well as popular applications like WordPress, Omeka and Drupal.

Lauren Ashley Designs

Freelance Web Designer
2012 - Present

Consult and train clients on hosting services, site management, and brand/website design. Design, build, and maintain client websites, logos, and social media kits; write HTML and CSS supporting code for web applications. Establish contractual maintenance agreements that address software updates, security checks, formatting changes, and content migration.

University of Mary Washington Division of Teaching & Learning Technologies

Student Aide Supervisor
UMW | June 2014 - May 2015

Supervised all student aides at the Information Desk in UMW's Hurley Convergence Center. Contributed to the design and management of university web pages. Assisted in building marketing and communication materials for the launch of Domain of One's Own, UMW's most recent digital project for students and faculty. Helped design check-out system that allowed students to rent school supplies and video recording equipment. 

The Big Issue Foundation & Magazine,

Intern
Bath, England | Aug. 2013 - Dec. 2013

The Big Issue is a street magazine in the UK that gives opportunity to vendors to earn a legitimate income through selling a magazine to the public. Vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and associated with poverty and inequality. More information: Website: bigissue.com

Assisted with editing articles for the Foundation's Quarterly Newsletter. Constructed weekly bulletin for Big Issue office. Managed multiple projects, worked closely with the Big Issue team and offered consultation to vendors.

Veritas Vineyard & Winery

Event Staff
Afton, Virginia | May. 2011 - Aug. 2015

Catered to guests and that attended formal gatherings and elaborate events including but not limited to weddings, New Years Eve masquerade balls, funerals, holiday brunches, and Summer concerts. This position also involved bartending, setting up and breaking down events, and coordinating with owners, event planners, and third-party businesses.

Presentations & Workshop Trainings

• OER22 Conference, Building Connections with Virtual Teams • May 2022, Virtual

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, Vanderbilt University • Nov 2021, Tennessee

• Deploy Conference, Digital Ocean, Distributed Learning in the Cloud • Nov 2020, Virtual

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, University of Washington • June 2020, Virtual

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, SUNY Oneonta • Aug 2019, New York

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, Wake Forest University • Jul 2019, North Carolina

• OER19 Conference, The Story of Reclaim • Apr 2019, Galway, Ireland

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, Michigan State University & Lansing Community College • Feb 2019, Michigan

• Admin & Faculty Workshop Training, Skidmore College • Nov 2018, New York

• Digital Preservation Workshop, Stanford University • May 2018, California

• OER18 Conference, Digital Literacy: Reclaiming Your Space • Apr 2018, Bristol, England

• Workshop of One’s Own, Admin & Faculty Workshop Training • Mar 2018, Virginia

• Admin & Faculty Training, Colgate University • Nov 2017, New York

• Workshop of One’s Own, Admin & Faculty Workshop Training • Nov 2017, Virginia

• Admin & Faculty Workshop, Muhlenberg College • Oct 2016, Pennsylvania

Other Activity

• HostingAdvice.com Interview, Reclaim Hosting Brings Schools and Institutions Flexible Hosting, Managed Infrastructure, and Cloud Services • Oct 2021, Online

• Advisor for “Digits”, University of Pittsburgh & Carnegie Mellon University, Digits: Two Reports on New Units of Scholarly Publication • 2018, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Conference Management & Leadership

OERxDomains21 Conference, Co-Chair • Apr 21-22, 2021, Virtual

Domains 2019 Conference, Lead Coordinator • Jun 10-11, 2019, Durham, NC

Domains 17 Conference, Lead Coordinator • Jun 5-6, 2017,  Oklahoma City, OK

Conference Management and leadership includes: Design and coordination of out of state conferences with 80-120 attendees. Planning lasts about 1 year; implementation lasts 3-5 days. Contribute to the design of the conference theme. Create event website and manage promotional social media accounts and hashtags. Oversee call for proposals, registrations, and acceptance/rejection notifications. Create email templates, communicate information to all speakers and attendees. Scout multiple venues, catering and entertainment. Act as primary contact and coordinator for all third-party companies and contracts. Work closely with venue staff on event layout. Key contributor to layout of a functional, 3 track, conference itinerary. Oversee printing of flyers, registration information, and name tags. Tasks delegation to volunteers and conference team during event. Implement unique solutions for dinner and entertainment to make sure all guests are looked after.