Kip Watson

Experience

• 

  Personal & Professional IT Support and Consulting

  Jan 2005 - Mar 2013

  Founder

  • Completed Search Engine Optimization consulting contract with a start-up real estate firm in June 2012• Built and maintained the computers and networks of small businesses to meet the customer requirements• Provided network and troubleshooting support, dealing with a variety of issues and providing hardware, software, and networking solutions to meet customers’ needs• Taught users how to use technology ranging from iPads to VPN software• Relied upon word of mouth and excellent work to gather and maintain clients, opening many networking doors and providing excellent contacts within a variety of professional organizations Show less

• 

  Eastex Products

  Sept 2011 - Dec 2011

  Sales Associate

  • Worked with customers over the phone to help match our products to their needs• Researched and prepared analysis of competitors’ products, services and shipping processes to more thoroughly understand the textiles market and increase competitiveness• Worked with Quickbooks, Salesforce, UPS Worldship and Microsoft Office suite extensively

• 

  Milton Academy

  Jan 2012 - May 2012

  Sailing Coach

  • Coached team to 4th place at the New England Team Race Championships and 2nd at the Atlantic Coach’s Challenge• Maintained relationship with the School’s Athletic department to help coordinate travel, lodging and regatta registration • Led by example to foster a competitive spirit, team work and sportsmanship on and off the water

• 

  Courageous Sailing Center

  May 2012 - Mar 2013

  Senior Staff

  • Worked among a team of coaches and instructors over the course of an 8 week summer operation and into the off season. Discussions included day to day planning, teaching methods, and communicating with both children and their parents.• Designed and executed daily lesson plans• Taught fundamental and advanced sailing skills to youth sailors as well as adults• Responsible for the well-being of competitors and equipment at regattas• Maintained equipment necessary for coaching• Worked on membership management and administration Show less

• 

  Bluewolf, an IBM Company

  Mar 2013 - Mar 2014

  Business Analyst

  • Served as part of a team to implement and execute projects from solution design, through testing, deployment and post go-live support• Interfaced with clients regularly from various professional backgrounds, from database administrators to executive level marketing/sales directors, diagnosing problems and gathering requirements for potential solutions.• Created documentation to aide with testing processes, solution implementation, troubleshooting, and user adoption.• Delivered remote administration services for clients’ Salesforce.com organizations through conference calls, on-site working sessions, and through the use of multiple remote meeting services such as Webex, join.me, and Microsoft Lync. • Other duties included leading status update meetings with clients, constructing meeting agendas, recording post-call minutes, and providing action items/deliverables to both client and internal actors. Show less

• 

  Detwiler Fenton Group

  Apr 2014 - Nov 2015

  Research Associate & Consultant Coordinator

  • Worked under analysts in the consumer sector to maintain models, synthesize proprietary data sets for use in research notes, as well as edit and prepare notes for publication • Participated in meetings concerning investment opportunities for the firm, strategic wealth management discussions, and weekly market climate analysis• Built and maintained a balanced model portfolio for an Investment Manager which, through a back-end integration with the Yahoo Finance API, would compute accurate to last close values of holdings and potential positions – this was used as a conversation starter for our weekly investment management round-table discussion• Handled scheduling and processing of consultant and sales team road trips/client meetings – responsibilities included tracking and issuing Travel & Expense reports, calculated per diem payments, coordinated meeting arrangements, e.g., restaurant payments, reservations, travel arrangements, coalesced the monthly payment information for entire consulting team Show less

• 

  Wells Fargo

  Nov 2015 - Jul 2017

  Client Service Consultant

  Courses completed through the Wells Fargo Learning Center: Commercial Banking Credit Basics for Non-Credit Professionals, Capital Finance Fundamentals of ABL, A Look at Credit Underwriting at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Financial Statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement)• Provided clientele with a professional and educational experience while servicing their accounts by, utilizing a broad understanding of the mutual fund industry and product knowledge as it pertained to Wells Fargo’s retail and retirement services • Responsible for delivering exemplary service via inbound calls from our external and internal clients relating to Wells Fargo Funds accounts - while meeting productivity and accuracy standards• Resolved a wide range of complex issues as they arose to foster positive client relationships and interactions• Worked to foster an agile workplace through the implementation of a system-level improvement and peer level mentoring / career development partnership – served on the Peer Council• Acted as a liaison between multiple departments dealing with retail, institutional, and professional investors to ensure the consistency of a client’s experience across our organization Show less

• 

  Commonwealth of Massachusetts

  Jun 2018 - Aug 2019

  Fiscal Policy Analyst, Executive Office for Administration

  Policy portfolio included: 14 County Sheriff offices, Health and Human Services, Youth Services, Refugee and Immigrant Services, and Veterans' Affairs• Informed senior staff’s budgetary decision making while providing strategic goal-oriented recommendations based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of department level input• Coordinated communication and cooperative workflow across state government as the Executive Office’s main point of contact for fourteen County Sheriffs, nine Health and Human Service departments, and their fiscal staffs• Spearheaded, in coordination with the Executive Office’s legal counsel, a new mechanism for retaining recurring revenue sources at county sheriffs’ offices focusing on transparency and oversight Show less

• 

  College of Charleston Master of Public Administration

  Aug 2020 - May 2021

  Graduate Assistant | MPA Community Assistance Program

  • Executed a Technical Assistance Panel with the Urban Land Institute and the Riley Center for Livable Communities: assembled a briefing book on King St., conducted confidential stakeholder interviews, assembled final presentation, and worked closely with all involved to coordinate general event proceedings• Designed a research-based proposal of a Race Equity Fellowship Program for the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council including program components most likely to yield: desired outcomes, leadership-oriented delivery formats ideal for leadership, budget outline, and incorporating a “train-the-trainer” model• Created the Racial Equity Framework for the city of Charleston, SC with the supported the Diversity, Racial Conciliation, and Tolerance Manager Show less

• 

  NCGrowth

  Sept 2021 - Feb 2022

  Graduate Consulting Analyst

  • Developed a scope of work for SmartUp’s consultation with Tucker’s Adult Health Day Care (TAHDC)• Built out loan proposal and business narrative templates to be leveraged in meetings with local banking partners• Partnered with South Carolina Small Business Development Centers CARES Act consultant to assist and guide the company through retitling the ownership of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) administered by the US Small Business Administration

• 

  City of Charleston

  Feb 2022 - Apr 2022

  Business Services Intern

  • Notified over 500 properties within the proposed King Street Business Improvement District of their assessment amounts and the appeals process• Utilized a National League of Cities grant to identify and codify existing services available to small businesses in and around the City of Charleston additionally highlighting areas in need of improvement• Collaborated on execution of a Small Business Opportunity Expo for 300+ local businesses on March 24, 2022

• 

  Lowcountry Local First

  May 2022 - Apr 2023

  Community Builder
• 

  Charleston County Economic Development

  Apr 2023 - now

  Director, Business Research