Debra Freund
Brainerd,MN
Summary
Executive Assistant with 15+ years of experience offering high-level administrative support to senior-level staff. Expert in travel management, expense tracking and schedule coordination. Expertly assists executive team using exceptional communication and organizational skills.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Assistant – Fully Remote
Medica
Minnetonka, MN
08.2023 - 11.2023
- Organizing and scheduling appointments as well as various meetings
- Meeting support: preparing materials, coordinating room arrangements including technology
- Booking travel arrangements and facilitating expense reporting
- Serving as a main point of contact of external and internal clients
- Submitting recurring 3rd party invoices into Concur to initiate the internal expense approval process
- Creating Power Point presentations
- Project management
- Assisted in the development of company policies and procedures, contributing to a more organized work environment
- Managed office inventory, tracking supplies and placing orders to ensure smooth daily operations
- Prepared and edited presentations on behalf of executives for both internal meetings and external conferences
- Streamlined executive communication by managing emails, phone calls, and scheduling appointments
- Maintained confidentiality with sensitive documents, ensuring proper storage and distribution as needed
- Improved office efficiency by implementing new filing systems and document management processes
Executive Assistant – Human Resource and Benefits Manager - Hybrid
Hubbard County Developmental Achievement Center
11.2022 - 06.2023
- Create onboarding plans and educate newly hired employees on HR policies, internal procedures and regulations
- Initiated all DHS background checks through NetStudy for new hires
- Generating official internal documents such as offer letters, announcements, performance improvement plans, termination letters
- Create newsletters for donors and clients
- Maintaining physical and digital files for employees and their documents regarding benefits, payroll, and attendance records
- Taking appropriate disciplinary action against employees who violate rules and regulations and addressing employee grievances
- Be a resource for all employees that have questions regarding their benefits and payroll
- Assign and track training and follow up with employees
- Initiate and follow through with DHS background checks on all new hires, and conduct reference checks new hires
- Research and keep abreast of current and new laws and regulations in Human Resources that affect the business
- Work with Managers to create and post new positions
- Work on various projects when needed
- Project management
- Event Planning
- Managed office inventory, tracking supplies and placing orders to ensure smooth daily operations
- Prepared and edited presentations on behalf of executives for both internal meetings and external conferences
- Streamlined executive communication by managing emails, phone calls, and scheduling appointments.
Senior Executive Assistant – Public Health Outreach Liaison - Sales and Marketing
Battelle Memorial Institute – Fully Remote
Columbus, OH
01.2021 - 01.2022
- B2B Sales and Marketing – Midwest
- Experience with report writing, oral presentation or other methods of sharing analytic results
- Design and manage project evaluations and /or research studies
- Conduct statistical analysis
- Covid 19 government contract position, reached out to congregate settings such as schools, nursing homes, childcare centers, and jails
- Ensured follow-through of all discussed items in meetings, with updates being incorporated into reports
- Maintain appointment schedules and calendars
- Planning and scheduling meetings, conferences, and travel
- Maximize the executive’s time by reading, researching and routing correspondence, drafting letters and documents, collecting and analyzing information
- Manage multiple email inboxes for executives
- Take notes at all Leadership Team meetings and distribute electronically to all members
- Project management
- Streamlined executive schedules by managing appointments, meetings, and travel arrangements to ensure smooth daily operations
- Enhanced communication between executives and staff by acting as a liaison and promptly addressing issues or concerns
- Supported decision-making processes by conducting research, compiling data, and presenting findings in concise reports for executive review
Executive Assistant/Office Manager Senior, OAS, SR.- Sales and Marketing
St. Cloud State University, Communication and Sciences Disorders Dept.
St. Cloud, MN
01.2007 - 01.2021
- Maximize the executives time by reading, researching, and routing correspondence, drafting letters and documents, collecting and analyzing information, initiating calls and teams meetings on their behalf
- Maintain appointment schedules and calendars
- Planning and scheduling meetings, conferences, and travel
- Make travel arrangements including flight and hotel bookings and ground transportation
- Manage multiple budgets
- Oversee all human resource functions
- Provide customer and vendor support
- Manage multiple email inboxes for executives
- Take notes at all Leadership Team meetings and distribute electronically
- Supervise office staff
- Project management
- Event planning
- Established team priorities, maintained schedules and monitored performance
- Planned and budgeted accurately to provide business with resources needed to operate smoothly
- Increased team productivity by implementing streamlined processes and effective communication strategies
Executive Assistant to the Forest Supervisor
US Forest Service
Walker, MN
01.2003 - 01.2007
- Maintain appointment schedules and calendars
- Planning and scheduling meetings, conferences, and travel
- Process travel expense reimbursement forms
- Make travel arrangements including flight and hotel bookings and ground transportation
- Manage multiple budgets
- Provide customer and vendor support
- Maximize the executive’s time by reading, researching and routing correspondence, drafting letters and documents, collecting and analyzing information
- Manage multiple email inboxes for executives
- Take notes at all Leadership Team meetings and distribute electronically
- Supervise office staff
- Supervised YCC Youth Program
- Acted as the frontline in dealing with public relations, boosting the organizations credibility
- Project management
- Event planning
- Streamlined executive communication by managing emails, phone calls, and scheduling appointments
- Maintained confidentiality with sensitive documents, ensuring proper storage and distribution as needed
- Improved office efficiency by implementing new filing systems and document management processes
Education
Bachelor’s Degree - Business Management
Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MISkills
- Executive support
- Schedule, email, and calendar management
- Travel coordination
- Expense reporting
- Customer relationship management
- Confidentiality maintenance
- Event coordination
- Technical support
- Invoice processing
- Office management
- Training and development
- Videoconference preparation
- Conflict management
References
Available Upon Request
Timeline
Executive Assistant – Fully Remote
Medica
08.2023 - 11.2023
Executive Assistant – Human Resource and Benefits Manager - Hybrid
Hubbard County Developmental Achievement Center
11.2022 - 06.2023
Senior Executive Assistant – Public Health Outreach Liaison - Sales and Marketing
Battelle Memorial Institute – Fully Remote
01.2021 - 01.2022
Executive Assistant/Office Manager Senior, OAS, SR.- Sales and Marketing
St. Cloud State University, Communication and Sciences Disorders Dept.
01.2007 - 01.2021
Executive Assistant to the Forest Supervisor
US Forest Service
01.2003 - 01.2007
Bachelor’s Degree - Business Management
Northern Michigan University