Meet Ellie

We’ve all come to Open Eye from diverse backgrounds. What are some of your career or personal highlights to date?

I have had a wide variety of unique experiences in my career. The craziest is having the opportunity to wine and dine the German Space Agency and Airbus, helping sell them experiments on the International Space Station. The hardest is watching a startup completely fall apart and fail. I have experience from startup to non-profit, to State Government leadership running innovation and entrepreneurship. No matter how big or small, or sexy or dirty a job has been, they have all taught me the power of problem solving and the ability to just get in and figure it out.

Outside feedback is enormously important for businesses. What’s some feedback that you’ve received personally that helped you grow?

Two pieces of advice have really helped me in my career:

A person letting me know that sometimes I need to slow my pace down to make sure everyone understands, because I process faster than most. This advice grew me as a leader. The other was from a working mom who had over 20 years of career experience, giving it to me as a career-driven new mom. The advice made me a better leader and mom all in one fell swoop. She looked at me and said, “Get help. Have someone clean your house, both you and your spouse work, someone will always feel out of balance no matter how equal your partnership is, and having help with the house will make you a better mom and wife and worker.” Up to that point, I felt weird about asking for help at home because I was supposed to be a super mom and career woman. I didn’t feel I was qualified enough, or earned the help, or rich enough to have help. She helped me shed the belief that I had to do it all, all the time. This advice has then helped many other female business owners I have worked with; we give each other the freedom and permission to ask for help.

We all try to bring a lot to the table at Open Eye. On the Open Eye team, what’s your superpower?

Strategic visionary. I help people see things they didn’t see before, and figure out how to get there!

We’re fond of the saying, “If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.” What’s one thing you think an organization should immediately start measuring that they likely aren’t?

Team makeup. Our organizations are only as good as our people and the teams. So often I see organizations using people in the wrong roles or have a team full of one type of personality. Understanding how to get the most out of your people, making sure the role fits the person, and making sure your team is diverse in perspectives and style will help your organization go further faster.

What do you love doing in your spare time?

Hanging with my son, husband, family, and friends. Our house is a revolving door and we love it that way! When I get the chance to, I love playing volleyball; I played in college.