Kara Imhof

Experience

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  Russell Investments

  Jun 2010 - Sept 2011

  Investment Management & Global Security Services Intern

  * Gathered data and furthered my experience working with Excel by creating a list of over 300 employees withinthe Investment Division of the company* Executed daily tasks and small projects in Excel for various managers* Assisted my supervisors in accomplishing their personal daily work such as recording proxy votes* Excelled while working in a fast paced and professional environment

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  Cactus Restaurants

  Sept 2011 - Aug 2013

  Expo / Host / Busser

  * Executed detailed tasks quickly with respect to priorities and processes* Coordinated both the restaurant floor and all to-go orders, proving my multi-tasking abilities* Streamlined processes to increase efficiency in the restaurant* Directed timing and flow of food from kitchen to floor, ensuring guest satisfaction

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  Boeing

  Jun 2012 - Aug 2012

  Supply Chain Analyst Intern

  Acquired knowledge on how an established Lean production system works* Investigated the production system in depth to determine areas that were inefficient* Designed a part labeling system that increased visibility and communication in the warehouse* Collaborated with staff from many different levels of the company to solve a major communication issue thataffected over 30 employees

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  Michael G. Foster School of Business Career Services Center

  Sept 2012 - Mar 2013

  Peer Advisor

  * Enabled students entering the workforce by providing critical feedback on resumes and cover letters* Acted on behalf of the Foster School for many visiting alumni and recruiters* Compiled relevant information (internships, career opportunities, salaries) for students interested in pursuing the Operations Supply Chain Management program that just began this year at Foster

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  Liberty Mutual Insurance

  Aug 2013 - now

  • Leads multi-disciplinary, cross-domain initiatives resulting in significant cost savings, including managing programs contributing up to $500K in annual service expense reductions• Drives the alignment of technical programs with strategic business goals by managing requirements, risks, and program schedules, ensuring clear communication across engineering and non-engineering teams• Works closely with senior leadership to prioritize and align high-impact initiatives, driving consensus on resource allocation and ensuring focus on the most critical business objectives• Actively mentors cross-functional team members to foster a collaborative, high-performance culture and advance team growth• Facilitates the full lifecycle of large-scale projects, coordinating across functional teams to identify risks, solve dependencies, and push technical solutions to completion Show less • Supported and improved release planning, backlog management and team health by providing relevant and nuanced coaching based on team skills and experience• Collaborated with Engineering Managers to ensure structures are in place to communicate, escalate and mitigate cross team dependencies with the goal of maximizing delivery• Partnered with Product Owners and Engineering Teams to define KPI’s and technical success criteria for teams• Demonstrated proficiency in improving team effectiveness by balancing data and emotional intelligence• Solved complex and dynamic personality-based conflicts within teams with aligned Engineering Managers Show less Agile Project Management/Scrum Master -Facilitate the bi-weekly planning of work intake based on feasibility and business priority -Ensure team tracks work progress throughout the iteration and that they are on target to finish by end of iteration; if they aren’t on track to do so, identify roadblocks and assist in removing them so work can continue -Assess the team continually for areas to improve, propose ideas to project and/or program management, and work with needed parties to implement improvements -Implemented several process improvements regarding how tools are used for iteration planning and retrospectives that ultimately shortened the team’s bi-weekly meetings by over an hour Show less Portfolio Planning -Developed an interactive spreadsheet to aid in the annual portfolio budget planning process which enabled greater cross-departmental and cross-functional collaboration in a historically isolated process -Facilitated meetings to determine system impacts and gather estimates for annual budget planning; worked with various departments such as billing, claims, portal, data management and legal to develop comprehensive, holistic estimatesQuality Assurance Analyst/Software Tester -Tested IVR and web application systems for defects -Reported defects to developer and followed through until defect resolution Show less

  • Portfolio Scrum Master

    Nov 2023 - now

  • Scrum Master II

    Feb 2019 - now

  • Scrum Master

    Jun 2017 - Feb 2019

  • IT Project Coordinator

    Jan 2015 - Jun 2017

  • IT Analyst Rotational Program

    Aug 2013 - Apr 2016
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  Rover.com

  Apr 2017 - Sept 2022

  Dog Sitter

  I adore all kinds of dogs and have absolutely loved doing dogsitting for Rover since April '17.