“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence- that will enable you to attain the success you seek” …Mario Andretti
Accomplishments: 2014 – Present
100% Responsiveness to the Sisterhood
95% Success Rate ensuring all newly approved membership materials were delivered before induction
Curriculum Vitae
Summary
Director in the Inforce Systems area of the Individual Policy Services Division of New York Life Insurance Company; managing one of the testing/research units in the area; administrator of one of the major subsystems, which I helped to build and test; and responsible for developing curricula for training/cross training, coaching employees; and Project Management for in-house projects which the Inforce system area is responsible for delivering.
Director of Inforce Systems
Present
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- Oversees the Annual testing Budget for Inforce Systems
- Plans, schedules and monitors work plans for employees
- Train new employees and cross-train existing employees on the various business functions
- Prepare Training Materials
- Train the Trainers
- Reviews detailed business requirements for one or more business functions through:
1.Working closely with Individual Policy Service (IPS) customers to perform business analysis tasks.
2.Coordinating testing efforts for one or more business functions including:
(A) Validating and executing test plans
(B) Identifying resources (data requirements, system necessities & people)
- Review of new/modified forms and policyholder communications designed by various team members.
- Review status reports, statistics, including reports for upper management.
- Review user documentation & training materials and/or new project level customer communications created by other team members.
- Perform problem/risk analysis for business functions.
- Represent Inforce Systems as the analytical expert on interdepartmental or interdivisional projects.
- Handle production support and user guidance requests.
- Work with Home Office (HO), Service Center (SC) and General Office (GO) personnel in planning of applications/projects
- Delegate of work assignments
- Follow up on the progress of the assignments
- Schedule assignments
- Coordinate requirement sessions
- Develop project timelines
- Coach and mentor employees
- Point of contact for New York Life Disaster Recovery efforts
- Prepare project presentations for management
- Act as the Testing Liaison Coordinator (between ILD and Inforce Systems) for the last five years on all New Product Introduction and Repricing efforts. The responsibilities are as follows:
- Attend various Project Kick-off meetings as the Inforce Systems Specialist Rep
- Prepare written assessments on what each project entails and what would be our area’s involvement.
- Work closely with the various system managers to develop testing schedules
- Ensure that all deadlines are met by the testers in the Inforce Systems area and if the deadlines cannot be met, negotiate if possible, and alternate dates. (i.e. dates for test plans, specifications, mock-ups, etc.)
- Prepare written progress reports for various projects for senior management review
- Trouble Shooting: assist the testers when needed in straightening out any problems that they may incur (which might cause delays) while they are in the system-testing phase.
- Follow up on any post implementation items
Senior Systems Consultant
- Project administration and interaction with business partners/production centers
- Coordinate/prepare/execute test plans and test cases as part of system acceptance testing for newly developed, corrected or enhanced systems.
- System administration and preventative maintenance.
- Coordinate/investigate/evaluate recommendations impacting systems’ processing, including the implementation of approved changes.
- Preparation of system procedures and or announcements for newly enhanced or corrected systems, because of projects, SRC’s (Service Request Coordination) or new product introduction
- Post Implementation follow-up and review to ensure Quality Assurance and cost effectiveness
- Act as a customer tester liaison coordinator for the Inforce Systems area on various companywide projects/initiatives
Systems Consultant
- Assisted with documentation of business requirements, to include creation of new forms and policyholder communications or modification of existing forms
- Developed test plans independently based on available documentation
- Execute test plans and documented results
- Prepared reports of test results for project manager
- Prepared user documentation and training materials for field news internal communication
- Assisted with research regarding necessity of new projects and or emerging technology and its practical implementation within the Individual Policy Service Department
Senior Systems Associate
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- Prepared and executed test plans and test cases as part of system acceptance testing for newly developed, corrected or enhanced systems
- Assisted with system administration and maintenance
- Investigated and recommended solutions/improvements regarding system processing or problems
- Prepared/Maintained system processing procedures and system enhancement communications for our business partners
- Prepared business specifications and requirements in collaboration with business partners and programmers or vendors
Entry Level –Accounting Analyst
Balanced company accounts for Life and Target Life products
Current Work with Zeta (August 2014 – Present)
“Your work is going to fill a larger part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it” …. Steve Jobs
National Level
Title: National First Anti-Basileus
Date: July 2014 – present
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Reviews incoming MIP packets and provide written approval to chapters
- Provides new membership materials written shipping notification to each approved chapter
- Reviews completed MIP evaluation forms
- Provides the International Grand Basileus with “up-to-the-minute” new membership approval stats, before a scheduled Regional Conference. These figures are incorporated into her State of the Sorority Report presentation at the conferences.
- Provides Regional Directors with “up-to-the-minute” new membership approval stats if requested, before their scheduled Regional Conferences. These figures are incorporated into their Regional highlight reports.
- Creates/updates the following reports
- Prepares Approval spreadsheets
- Prepares Itemized batch reports – sent to TD Bank and National Headquarters
- Prepares Summary reports which are sent to TD Bank and National Headquarters
- Created a yearly Legacy report for tracking purposes
- Created a yearly refund report for tracking purposes
- Prepares the National First Anti-Basileus’ written and detailed PowerPoint reports for presentation at the National Executive Board Meeting each January
- Prepares the Fiscal Year-End Report of the National First Anti-Basileus which is submitted to the National Executive Board for review
- Prepares a detailed, Boule report regarding the activities/duties of the First Anti-Basileus, which covers her two-year term of office. This report is placed in the Boule guidebook for review by the sisterhood
- Chairs the National Membership Committee
- Created the first addendum to the MIP Manual since it was created in 2012 and approved by the National Executive Board in 2013. The addendum was created to clarify information in the MIP Manual, provide answers to the FAQs, and provide an answer key section for all the Course of Study questions.
- Created new MIP Financial Forms A and B to facilitate a smoother process for submitting MIP fees with the applications.
- Performs MIP Certification Training across the country and abroad
- Creator of the annual National Reclamation Campaigns
- Produces a Semi-Annual National Membership News Brief
- Participates as a member on National Executive Board committees assigned to by the National Chair of the Executive Board and the International Grand Basileus
- Develops special initiatives related to membership
- Reviews MIP Certification training updates from State and Regional Directors who conduct their MIP training
- Reviews and forwards the MIP training sign-in sheets submitted by the State and Regional Directors before sending them for inclusion on the National Registry
- Provides exceptional customer service to the Sisterhood
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” …. H Jackson Brown, Jr.
Membership
Induction
Delta Mu Zeta Chapter – May 1982
Harlem, New York – Atlantic Region
Membership Levels
Life Member – 1992
Golden Life Member – 1998
Diamond Level Contributor – 2013
National Experience
- National First Anti-Basileus: 2014 – Present
- National Director of Strategic Planning: 2012 – 2016
- Zeta Organizational Leadership (ZOL) Committee Member: 2005 – 2008
- National ZOL Trainer: 2005 – 2008
- Chairman of the National Executive Board: 2000 – 2004
- 11th Atlantic Regional Director: 1996 – 2000
- Member of the National Boule Committee Planning Team – 1998, 2000, 2016 and 2018
- National Personnel Chair: 1996 – 2000
Boulé Attendance – 17
1982 (Richmond, VA), 1984 (Detroit MI), 1986 (Anaheim, CA), 1990 (St. Louis, MO), 1992(Charlotte, NC), 1994 (Orlando, FL), 1996 (Dallas TX), 1998(Atlanta, GA), 2000 (Philadelphia, PA), 2002 (New Orleans, LA), 2004 (Hollywood, CA), 2006 (Hollywood, FL), 2008 (Las Vegas, NV), 2010 (Dallas, TX), 2012 (Chicago, IL), 2014 (Washington, DC), 2016 (Orlando, FL)
Attended Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated 75th Anniversary Celebration in Washington DC – 1995
National Executive Board Meeting Attendance – 23
1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
Regional Experience
- 55th Atlantic Regional Conference Marshal: 2013
- Regional Z-HOPE Coordinator: 2006 – 2008
- Regional Tamias: 1990 – 1992 and 1992 – 1994
- 46th Atlantic Regional Conference Marshal: 1995
- 11th Atlantic Regional Director: 1996 – 2000
Regional Conferences Attendance – 20
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017
Regional Executive Board Meeting Attendance – 31
1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017
State Experience
- New York State Director of Chapter Management & Development: 2012 – 2014
- New York State Conference Marshal: 2012
- New York State Conference Marshal: 1996
- State Tamias: 1986 – 1988 and 1988 – 1990
- Graduate Member to the Regional Nominating Committee: 1985-1986 and 1990-1991
State Conference Attendance – 34
1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017
State Executive Board Meeting Attendance – 29
1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017
New York State did not hold an Executive Board meeting in the fall/winter of 2016
Local Experience
- Director of Chapter Management & Development: 2012 – 2014
- Basileus: 1994 – 1996, 1996 – 1998 and 2006 – 2008
- 2nd Anti-Basileus: 2002 – 2004 and 2004 – 2006
- Tamias: 1986 – 1988, 1988 – 1990 and 2010-2012
- Z-HOPE Coordinator: 2002 – 2010
- 60th Chapter Anniversary Celebration Chairperson: 2010
- 50th Chapter Anniversary Celebration Chairperson: 2000
- 43rd Chapter Anniversary Celebration Chairperson: 1983
Soror Hollingsworth-Baker held the position of Tamias on the Local, State and Regional levels simultaneously and still is the only Soror in the Atlantic Region to have achieved this milestone to date.
She Delivers!
Increased Communication
Response to inquiries from the sisterhood have been answered within 24 hours (Within a three-year period, received over a combination of 18,656 phone calls, emails and texts)
Membership Intake Packets
Reviewed and approved within 24 to 48 hours or less over 7,000 in a three-year period from Sept 2014- June 15, 2017
Written approvals of membership intake process
Chapters are provided written approvals for their record-keeping
(Within a three-year period, over 7,000 approvals have been emailed from Sept 2014 – June 15, 2017)
Written shipping notification (New Initiative)
Chapters are provided written shipping notifications stating when they can expect the arrival of their membership materials
(Within a three-year period, over 7.000 shipping notices have been emailed from Sept 2014 – June 15, 2017)
Comprehensive Officer Reporting
Seven (7) detailed reports were produced and submitted to the National Executive Board and the general membership. These reports included: new and reclaimed membership numbers, total income and expenses of MIP, status updates on all ongoing membership initiatives/new initiatives, and a listing of the activities of the National First Anti-Basileus to include details on the amount of MIP training this officer was allowed to perform and much more.
Scheduled Reporting Times:
- January 2015 – Presented at the National Executive Board meeting (written report and detailed PowerPoint presentation)
- June 2015 – Submitted to the National Executive Board and placed in the Keys to Membership News Brief. (written report)
- January 2016 – Presented at the National Executive Board meeting (written report and detailed PowerPoint presentation)
- July 2016 – Presented to the National Executive Board at Boule 2016 (written report placed in Guidebook and a detailed PowerPoint presentation)
- January 2017 – Presented at the National Executive Board meeting (written report and detailed PowerPoint presentation)
- July 2017 – submitted to the National Executive Board and placed in the Keys to Membership News Brief (written report)
- January 2018 – Presented at the National Executive Board meeting (written report and detailed PowerPoint presentation)
National Membership Month
Annual Initiative to highlight best practices in retention, reclamation and recruitment. Over 3,500 members participated over the last three years in various activities to stimulate and enrich members’ knowledge base.
- Debut – June 2015
- 2nd installment – October 2016
- 3rd installment – September 2017
June 2015 Flyer
October 2016 Logo
September 2017 Logo
National First Anti-Basileus Report Card Survey – (First time done)
Created a measuring tool to provide feedback from the membership on the job performance of this officer. First disseminated at the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year. A second survey was created and disseminated to the membership at the end of the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The feedback was key in improving the services which the National First Anti-Basileus provides daily to the membership.
Going Green – Electronic Conversion of MIP Forms and Letters -Phase 1
Hired a programmer to convert the forms and letters below to electronic versions. All forms were tested and instructions created by the National First Anti-Basileus before the roll out. (Payment for this initiative was paid for by the National First Anti-Basileus)
Description | Dissemination Date |
Created a PDF fillable version of the New National Financial Forms A and B | October 20, 2016 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the MIP Evaluation form | December 9, 2016 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the MIP Certificate Order Form | December 9, 2016 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the MIP Request for Membership Materials | December 9, 2016 |
Detailed instructions were created to accompany all the above PDF fillable versions in the 4th quarter of 2016 | October 20th and December 6th 2016 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the letter Inviting Legacy aspirant to membership | February 13, 2017 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the letter Inviting Non- Legacy aspirant to membership | February 13, 2017 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the letter Inviting Legacy aspirant to an interview | February 13, 2017 |
Created a PDF fillable version of the letter Inviting Non-Legacy aspirant to an interview | February 13, 2017 |
The Personal Touch Campaign – (Signature Initiative)
Customized letters to the sisterhood
- Created a customized “Welcome letter” which was sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced September 2015. Over 4000 letters were sent.
- Created customized “Holiday Letters” (Christmas and New Year) which were sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced December 2015. Over 900 letters were sent.
- Created a customized “Thank You Holiday Letter” which was sent to all MIP Coordinators and Undergraduate Advisors who assisted in helping Zeta to grow – commenced December 2015. Over 300 letters were sent.
- Created a customized “Founders’ Day Graphic” which was sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced January 2016. Over 250 graphics were sent.
- Created a customized “Congratulatory Letter” to graduating Sorors who completed the Transition Your Talents Survey. Over 275 were sent.
- Created a customized “Zetaversary Letter” which are being sent to new members on their first anniversary starting from the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Over 500 letters were sent.
2015 – 2017 Reclamation Campaign
Developed three successful Reclamation Campaigns where over 2,900 inactive members came back home to Zeta.
2015 Logo
Personal Touch Campaign – Signature Initiative
Reclamation graphic sent to over 910 inactive members from the office of the National First Anti-Basileus for the 2015 Reclamation Drive
Anti-Basileus for the 2015 Reclamation Drive
2016 Logo
Reclamation graphic and letter sent to over 905 inactive members from the office of the National First Anti-Basileus for the 2016 Reclamation Drive.
2017 Logo
2017 Reclamation graphic and accompanying letter sent to inactive members from the office of the National First Anti-Basileus.
2017 Reclamation letter sent to over 544 inactive members from the office of the National First Anti-Basileus.
Transition your Talents Campaign – Phase 1
Encouraging undergraduates to transition into graduate chapters. Debuted the well-received “Transition your Talents” iMovie at the 2016 Boulè Awards Banquet. The iMovie highlighted 50 new graduates who successfully transitioned into Graduate chapters. (First time done)
Created a customized “Congratulatory Letter” which was sent to newly graduated Sorors who filled out the new Transition Survey along with a specially designed graphic.
The Personal Touch Campaign – (Signature Initiative)
Customized letters to the sisterhood
- Created a customized “Welcome letter” which was sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced September 2015. Over 4000 letters were sent.
- Created customized “Holiday Letters” (Christmas and New Year) which were sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced December 2015. Over 900 letters were sent.
- Created a customized “Thank You Holiday Letter” which was sent to all MIP Coordinators and Undergraduate Advisors who assisted in helping Zeta to grow – commenced December 2015. Over 300 letters were sent.
- Created a customized “Founders’ Day Graphic” which was sent to new members inducted into Zeta – commenced January 2016. Over 250 graphics were sent.
- Created a customized “Congratulatory Letter” to graduating Sorors who completed the Transition Your Talents Survey. Over 275 were sent.
- Created a customized “Zetaversary Letter” which are being sent to new members on their first anniversary starting from the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Over 500 letters were sent.
The Keys to Membership News Brief
- Semi-annual news brief from the office of the National First-Anti Basileus
- Six (6) comprehensive issues have been published and disseminated to the sisterhood since January 2015 and viewed by over 8,840 members.
1st Proposal
Developed a proposal for a stand-alone system for processing MIP applications online. The proposal was submitted to the National Executive Board in January 2015 and was placed on hold until Avectra completes work on building a new database. (Status still Pending)
2nd Proposal
Developed a proposal for placing the MIP Course of Study online. The proposal was submitted to the International Grand Basileus in June 2016. (Status Pending)
Status updates
- The International Grand Basileus approved the concept in September 2016.
- Over the course of several months, three LMS companies were vetted by the National First Anti-Basileus. The best proposal was chosen to present to the International Grand Basileus which she approved in December 2016
- After four months of meetings with the National Membership Committee, a project spreadsheet was completed. This spreadsheet was broken out by week with subcategories of topics in each week. Suggestions were highlighted regarding what the members wanted to see created which would be visually appealing through an e-learning course for our aspirants. (Started March 2017, completed June 2017)
- Three Instructional Design firms were vetted by the National First Anti-Basileus and the best proposal for the scope of work required and price estimates were submitted to the International Grand Basileus in June 2017 for review.
- Scheduled a meeting for August 15, 2017 to review the SOW (Statement of Work) with the instructional design rep, the International Grand Basileus and the National First Anti-Basileus.
3rd Proposal
Submitted a proposal to the International Grand Basileus in October of 2015 for an Audio History Book – Proposed Title: “A Journey Through the Decades… Zeta Then and Now”. This proposal was approved in March 2016 by the International Grand Basileus and included the suggested companies to handle the recording and replication.
Status Update
The final script was submitted to the International Grand Basileus for her review in August 2017.
- Created and organized the first Christmas International Tele Town Hall for our overseas Sorors Two special editions of the Tele Town Hall were created especially for our overseas Sorors to attend and receive firsthand updates on the State of the Sorority from the International Grand Basileus and several elected and appointed officers. (December 2014) (Members from Germany, Belgium, London, Japan, Abu Dhabi, Korea were on the calls)
- Guest moderator for the first Tele Townhall 2017 Global Day of Service on Monday January 16, 2017, sponsored by the Centennial Commission.
- National Liaison to the National Military Advisory board
- Instrumental in working on the MOU (Memo of Understanding) between Zeta and Women’s Veterans Rock in 2015 which is a limited partnership that will end in 2020 culminating our 100th anniversary and Women’s Veterans Rock 10-year anniversary.
- Assisted with the development/concept of National Military Appreciation week. Also served as the Mistress of Ceremonies and assisted in organizing the 2nd year Gala Celebration to launch the 2015 National Military Appreciation week on November 7, 2015. Zeta presented $25,000.00 to Women’s Veterans Rock at this affair.
Vendor Acquisition
- Responsible for working closely with the Orlando St. John’s Boutique Store Management to bring the high-end clothier to the 2016 Grand Boulè in Orlando, Florida.
- Currently working with the VP in charge of merchandising at St John’s head office to finalize the details for bringing the Boutique to Boulè 2018.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated is the 1st Greek Letter Organization that St John’s has participated with on a National Level by bringing their Boutique store to a National Convention.