She has strong convictions and ideas, and backs both up through methodical research and validation.
Katy and I worked together for two years in the same Product department at a fast-paced education technology startup. I had the privilege of learning product management best practices under her wing, growing from Product Analyst to Product Manager, thanks in large part to her tutelage. She is a strong mentor with a strong sense of self and has always made herself available as a resource for others still growing into their own career paths.
My time working with Katy has had a profound impact on my professional development. I came into the product world with no prior experience; Katy made herself as available as possible to help me grow, on top of managing her own duties. As these duties at times included managing four separate development teams, it should be no surprise that Katy has a high capacity for challenging work that requires equal focus on competing priorities.
Katy brings her full self with her wherever she goes, which is one of the most rewarding things about collaborating with her. She is just about as authentic as you can get. She has strong convictions and ideas, and backs both up through methodical research and validation. In my experience, any work Katy does as an individual is always in service of reaching common ground with her teammates so all can work toward meaningful, actionable solutions. Her attention to detail with regard to team processes is a noteworthy example of this. Katy's eye for efficiency, in communication, in workload management, in product roadmapping, helped propel our Product team to where it is today, both in improving cross-team collaboration and developing an overarching product strategy.
Working with Katy left me a more confident, competent product manager with a clear sense of myself, my responsibilities, and what makes me uniquely capable of handling them. At the very least, Katy is a valuable teammate because she can bring out the best in her coworkers. And that still does not begin to encapsulate the value accrued by her years of experience, passion, and work ethic.
