It’s been a crazy 2025 where I focused on depth over noise, sharing insights on long-term experience and real-world problems. After digging into the post, I ended up breaking this up into two posts to give proper credit to all that happened in 2025. You’re also going to find that rather than chasing shiny AI trends, my work this year centered on helping technologists navigate AI complexity with clarity, especially when data protection was concerned. I did keynotes, technical conferences, published writing, and performed community engagement and all the while the central thread was focused on practical impact: work that…
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It’s that time of year again when data professionals from every corner of the world are gathering for PASS Data Community Summit and I’m already exhausted…and thrilled to go to Seattle. Between the keynotes, the sessions, and reconnecting with my Summit family, this week always feels like the ultimate data event that I must power through! I start the long week with SQL Saturday Oregon, the weekend before PASS Summit, as I’ll be the keynote speaker at this event and then many of us will head off to Seattle on the SQL Train on Sunday to begin the week of…
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I have the greatest respect for those that organize and create user group tech events. It’s an incredible challenge, especially having to compete with today’s huge, heavily funded, cloud vendor events, and due to this, one of the biggest challenges in running a tech event is driving attendance. The formula is familiar: great speakers, strong technical sessions, networking opportunities, and engaging social events. But somewhere along the way, as technology has advanced, one outdated tactic has lingered: using the presence of young women to attract a male-dominated audience. For women in tech, this is not a trivial issue, but can…
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Recharging, Exploring, and Sharing Knowledge So My Kevlar Stays Intact The world is always moving fast for me, so it’s easy to overlook the importance of self-care. We often find ourselves caught up in work, deadlines, and the constant drive for productivity. However, taking the time to step away, unplug, and recharge is vital. Not only for my mental and physical well-being but also for my creativity and professional growth. Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to spend a couple of weeks traveling through Europe, exploring the vibrant cities of Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Trieste, and finally, the charming coastal…
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Why I Move On, and Why You Might Need To I mentor between three and five individuals at any given time. Many are women, though I mentor men as well. These conversations are always insightful, hopefully for them, not just me, and over time, some clear patterns have emerged. Today, I want to share a few of the tried and true rules I’ve learned and shared as part of these valuable interactions. Why I Leave Roles (and Why You Might Consider It Sooner) Here’s the truth: I have a very low tolerance for leadership foolishness. People sometimes ask, half-jokingly and…
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I was caught off guard last week when the “Congratulations on your work anniversary!” messages started rolling in on LinkedIn. It had slipped my mind that it had already been a full year since I began contracting with Redgate back in May 2024. And, true to form, LinkedIn, always eager to simplify the complexities of tech careers and notified my entire network that I’d officially hit the one-year mark, although I hadn’t started full-time till the beginning of October. It can almost feel like an identity crisis as you perform so many roles for different organizations – thrilling and satisfying…
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Recently, I re-entered the Oracle community as a speaker, and I won’t lie, I felt some anxiety. I’d been away from the Oracle keynote stage for a while, focusing on building solutions, working in spaces that welcomed me, and doing what so many long-term women in tech have had to do: protect our energy, guard our sanity, and rebuild when too many small harms have added up. So, when I was asked to keynote not one, but several Oracle events, I was humbled. These weren’t just recycled talks-they were opportunities to create something meaningful. I don’t do canned keynotes. I…
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2024 was a pretty busy year for me. It was one marked with change as I shifted the beginning of the year into my role at Silk as Director of Data and AI. We began focusing heavily on my abilities to navigate the technology landscape and identify what was required as a company at Silk to make the most of it. As I had time, I was heavily involved at DZone writing content on a slew of topics, which I really enjoyed. I think the biggest surprise was that you realize with a small pivot, tech is often handled the…
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I’ve been pretty busy with work and travel, but I finally got an official Silk Github repository to publish a couple new white papers and sizing assessment worksheets for customer access. These are primarily Oracle and SQL Server to Azure focused white papers, but I will be publishing ones on GCP next, to be followed by AI and other database platforms soon. White Papers The A2Z on Oracle for Azure The A2Z on SQL Server to the Cloud The slides for the session that is part of the research that went into the white paper above can be found here. …
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Did I really say that I would be presenting somewhere IN PERSON?? I’m actually coming out of hibernation and thinking about being social? Thursday, March 30th at 12pm PT/3pm ET, I’ll be on my first 2023 Redgate Webinar Is AI the Key to Driving Database Efficiencies? April 13th, 11am ET, I’ll be on a DZone webinar, another great one on Databases and AI! “Machine vs. Human: A Fireside Chat on Conversational AI” The link for this should be up soon, so stay tuned! May 5th, all day, Data Platform WIT/DEI…
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I just finished an interview with a friend for a blog post where he was surprised how differently I was viewed in the Oracle community, (a multi-platform DBA who wasn’t very loyal to Oracle like she should be) vs. the Microsoft community, (that odd Oracle girl.) The truth is, I’ve always enjoyed database technology and few know that my first database (MSSQL 6.5) as well as my first book was in Microsoft SQL Server (Pro SQL Server 2012 Practices). I’m not platform centric at all, work mostly in Oracle, SQL Server/Azure SQL and MySQL, but I’m just CUSTOMER centric. Azure…
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Three years ago today, I walked into Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA and started my journey with onboarding. After a flurry of directions, presentations and shock at the diverse individuals in the process with me, I returned home and started as the lucky person taking over Patrick LeBlanc’s previous position in a specialized group in the EDU. I always hate starting a new job and this was no different. I had no idea what I was doing, was drinking from the fire hose, (which at Microsoft is always the case with how much is constantly evolving in the technology) and…
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I’ll be speaking along with a slew of fantastic other presenters on mental health and wellness as part of the Women in Tech Data Platform on May 7th, 2021. This is a day we all come together to recognize the importance of self-care in our lives, but especially during this unprecedented time of the pandemic. I’ll be presenting a session titled, “Turning ADHD into “Awesome Dynamic Highly Dependable” It’s a long time coming, as I’m so often asked how I make ADHD look so easy. As most folks know, I don’t consider ADHD a disorder, but a unique wiring of…
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This is commonly the time at any company I discuss how I’m about to move on… Nope, not planning on going anywhere… I know, it’s odd for everyone involved, but we’ll all get used to it. Where I’ve Been I joined Microsoft two years ago, to take on the role that Patrick LeBlanc left so that he could accomplish all that we’ve observed with Adam Sexton on Guy in a Cube. It was just a bit intimidating, as I’d never done analytics or AI before, nor had I really any experience in Azure. I hadn’t even thought about the big…
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A week ago, Friday was my 13 year-old Cattle Dog/Jack Russell mix, DaVinci’s time to go to doggo heaven. He was a great flurry of tri-color energy, wrapped up in a small package. DaVinci at 4 Yrs Old I adopted him from a rescue that has discovered him during a Meth lab bust in Colorado. I liked to call him “My Little Crack-Puppy” and he was known for losing his little doggy mind around any animal that called to his prey drive,…
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I’m getting ready for SQL Saturday Oregon this weekend, (taking the train up from Eugene to Portland…) but its about time I talked about the exhilarating and exhausting event we call PASS Summit. This year I was lucky enough to be chosen as a speaker and a blogger. Bloggers at the conference get the opportunity to sit in special zones during keynotes and we write about the event. We also get special access to Microsoft PMs, (although I may be the only one who works for Microsoft attending vs. running them… :)) I look forward to all of the blogger…
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I’m still not sure where October went….well, actually I do- it was a flurry of travel, writing, (but not blogging!) and working with customers on a ton of new projects for the next quarter. With the end of October, comes the preparation for PASS Summit. Last year, I had to pass on the SQL Train, but this year? SQL Train is the annual pilgrimage from SQL Saturday Oregon, in Portland, to PASS Summit in Seattle via Amtrak train. Chris Hyde is the poor, tortured soul responsible for organizing this, but I hear that if you say you’ll volunteer, it’s like…
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There are busy times for everyone and if you speak at conferences, the busy times are March,May and November. I am recovering from the early spring rush, and now it’s time to prepare for the late spring one. I’ve been fortunate enough to be accepted to speak at the following regional SQL Saturdays and look forward to speaking and meeting new folks, along with catching up with conference friends: SQL Saturday Raleigh, April 27th Optimizing Power BI, Taming of the Shrew, (Analytics) SQL Saturday Jacksonville, May 5th GDPR, The Buck Stops Here, (data governance) Be a Part of the Solution…