Katherine Fusto
Germantown,USA
Summary
Over 20 years of IT experience. Serving in a variety of roles with a heavy focus on the legal and health-care systems. With deep technical competencies in current mission-critical communication technologies from Microsoft and Cisco. Experience with the entire product life-cycle within the corporate environment. Engaged in the project management cycle, having coached team leads, led teams, scoped projects, and consistently executed against plan, delivering under budget while exceeding expectations. Solid reputation for being customer focused and a preferred team member. Exceptional organizational, interpersonal and communication skills. Able to prioritize, manage and execute against the demands of both the enterprise and preferred clientele. Proactive self-starter known to initiate process and system improvements to increase system stability and staff productivity.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
Work History
Project Manager
The Carlyle Group
01.2019 - Current
- Led and delivered 30+ IT projects totaling over $20M in budgets, driving operational efficiency and technological advancement.
- Spearheaded Agile transformation for the Infrastructure/Engineering team, enhancing roadmap visibility and capacity planning.
- Successfully executed two major domain migrations, reducing tech debt by ~$2M and improving collaboration through two-way trusts.
- Designed and implemented an Intune-based mobile device management solution.
- Launched a mobile device compliance tool for SEC-mandated text message archiving.
- Led global deployment of Microsoft Teams phones and Zoom Rooms to enhance communication.
- Managed international expansion projects in Luxembourg, San Francisco, Boston, Singapore, and London.
- Orchestrated the RingCentral phone system rollout during COVID-19 to ensure business continuity.
- Led key infrastructure initiatives, including Skype decommissioning, new laptop builds, and server upgrades.
- Executed annual Disaster Recovery Exercises (2020-2024) and delivered comprehensive reports for executive stakeholders.
- Oversaw full project lifecycle: planning, execution, risk management, stakeholder communication, and team coaching in a highly regulated financial environment.
Telecom Systems Engineer
The Carlyle Group
07.2015 - 12.2018
- Duties included daily administration for the telcom systems, and conference room teams, created a lab for telecom testing, established a managed services team to take over administration for MAC-D (moves, adds, change, deletes)
Systems Engineer
The Carlyle Group
09.2013 - 06.2015
- Company Overview: The Carlyle Group is the second largest investment company in the world with 34 offices, in 21 countries on six continents. Investments in over 200 portfolio companies that employ 600,000 people worldwide.
- Duties included infrastructure assessment, assembly, and management.
⦁ Citrix 6.5 administration
⦁ Exchange administration
⦁ Active Directory administration
⦁ VMware 5.1 install, configure, manage training class Global Knowledge
⦁ Office 365 – helped with migration using Transvault tool
⦁ Tintri, Nutanix, Simplivity storage implementation/infrastructure
⦁ Amazon Web Services – cloud configuration and administration
⦁ CyberArk – Password Management System implementation (implemented POC)
⦁ Thycotic – Password Management System
⦁ Symantec cloud discovery
⦁ Windows Azure Directory Module for powershell
Senior Systems Administrator
The JBG Companies
10.2011 - 08.2013
- Company Overview: JBG is a property management company with net assets in the greater Washington DC area in excess of $2.5B
- Job responsibilities included leadership on various projects related to and maintenance on the corporate communications and disaster recovery systems
- Other duties included eDiscovery, life cycle management, and IT acquisitions
- Led, planned, created, strategized and implemented Exchange 2010 resource calendaring
- Organized and conducted training classes for users, administration and managers on how to properly utilize resource calendars
- Maintained and administered the Cisco phone system using CUCM, Presence server, Unity Connection 8.6 and Meeting Place Express
- Communicated with outside vendor on a consistent basis on ways to improve, upgrade and utilize existing in–house cisco systems
- Created new phones
- Standardized the naming convention of all phones for all sites
- Organized and cleaned up all old phones and accounts left in the call manager and in Unity
- Ran monthly reports on license usage and user information for both CUCM and UNITY connection
- Created Anyconnect phones for certain users to have at home
- Pushed out Jabber client to work with our Presence server
- Created documentation and led instructional classes on how to use Meeting Place express in lieu of another costly audio conferencing utility
- Collaborated with vendor to migrate from Unity to Unity Connection to work with our Exchange 2010 environment, in conjunction with upgrading to call manager 8.6.2, and Presence server
- Collaborated with team members to develop documentation for disaster recovery procedures and maintained the document as the environment changed
- Maintained the EMC SourceOne archival environment
- Collaborated with EMC vendor with migrating to newest version
- Performed legal searches for litigation for the legal department using SourceOne
- Provided data to the lawyers in pst format
- Communicated with joint counsel at DLPiper and transferred legal hold data over to them using FTP or sendthisfile.com utility
- Maintained Email Xtender system – worked with EMC vendor extensively to troubleshoot the product as it reached its end of life
- Responsible for maintaining backup system for Exchange, SQL dbs, system states, file server using Backup Exec and tape library
- Rotated tapes on a weekly basis
- Performed restorations from tape backup as needed
- Worked on the team to move users from Exchange 2007 to 2010
- Responsible for creating user accounts, distribution groups, shared mailboxes, security groups
- Responsible for supporting the helpdesk team with issues related to security permissions and exchange issues
- Developed a standardized way to create shared mailboxes for new sites including secured groups
- Developed and instated a reference card for JBG IT resources for all users
- Collaborated with managerial staff to create an IT new hire packet for all new employees
- Introduced all new users to JBG IT resources along with the JBG New Hire Packet
- Created informational documents/training materials/cheat sheets for users on various subjects relating to IT usage at JBG
- Provided informational documentation for the ‘Tip of the Week’ to be sent out on a weekly basis
- Background deployment
- Rdirectory, mypassword configuration/administration
- JBG is a property management company with net assets in the greater Washington DC area in excess of $2.5B
Network Engineer
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
11.2009 - 10.2011
- Company Overview: Drinker Biddle is a 160-year old law firm with 650 on staff lawyers in 11 offices nationwide, focusing on class action defense, corporate and securities, government relations, health care and more
- Duties included management and oversight of voice/communication applications, data and disaster recovery systems, Tier 2/Tier 3 support, and project oversight
- Performed various network/server administration tasks (both voice and data) including disaster recovery planning
- Coordinated activities with firm-wide network administration policies/procedures
- Performed daily operational tasks for all Washington office servers (e.g., check backups, review log files, etc.)
- Performed system upgrades and maintenance as assigned
- Performed SAN management
- Created end user accounts
- Supported and tested issues for Windows operating system
- Installed new software as well as software updates/patches
- Responsible for testing and maintenance for all servers/network equipment (coordinate outsourced maintenance providers as well as in house equipment repair)
- Provided good custom service and timely resolution to end user problems (help desk function)
- Recorded all relevant calls in the Help Desk database
- Provided support for help desk calls that require escalation
- Worked with senior network operations staff to troubleshoot LAN/WAN data connectivity including Cisco router/switch administration, LAN connectivity issues, WAN provider troubleshooting, and Internet connectivity
- Performed VOIP maintenance (moves/adds/changes) and monitoring Cisco Call Manager and Unity voicemail maintenance/support
- Coordinated data security efforts as needed
- Composed documentation on procedures pertaining to the utilization of software for users and IS staff in addition to creating documentation on procedures for IS staff
- Performed as a stand-in supervisor when other management personnel was out of the office which includes meeting with lawyers regarding requests, coordinating with other managers regarding issues or questions among helpdesk staff, and acting as a liaison between managers out of the office and managers in the office
- Worked on troubleshooting Palo Alto device after implementation along with Symantec Endpoint protection to try to thwart continuing malware issues in the DBR environment
- Performed ad hoc helpdesk tasks when staffing is low including answering phones, troubleshooting, printer repair, conference room scheduling with live meeting and in house scheduling
- Drinker Biddle is a 160-year old law firm with 650 on staff lawyers in 11 offices nationwide, focusing on class action defense, corporate and securities, government relations, health care and more
Network Engineer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
05.1997 - 11.2009
- Company Overview: HHMI is a Non-profit medical research organization playing a prominent role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the USA
- Duties included management and oversight of the communications, data and disaster recovery systems
- Maintained, operated enterprise-wide email and email archival solution for HHMI, including 700+ seats leveraging Microsoft Exchange 2007, EAS, RightFax, and VMWare
- Scoped, configured, and migrated to a fully redundant/highly available Exchange 2007 email and email archival solution for HHMI, with external SAN storage
- Scoped, configured, deployed Exchange 2003 email and email archival solution for HHMI, including 700 seats
- Configured, deployed and maintained Blackberry Enterprise Server and associated policies
- Maintained and updated all 30 Microsoft Windows servers providing enterprise applications to HHMI personnel
- Managed remote access solution leveraging Citrix solution technology
- Supported and designed the Microsoft Windows Active Directory structure and associated security policies, rights and privileges
- Migrated user community from Novell to Active Directory: created scripts to map users to new Win2k servers, ported data from Netware volumes to Win2k servers, created paths for terminal service profiles and home directories for each user
- Liaison between Howard Hughes Medical Institute and contractor Collegis; responsible for taking new Collegis employees through orientation and Human Resource related issues, and worked with the project manager to coordinate flow of project-related progress and updates
- HHMI is a Non-profit medical research organization playing a prominent role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the USA
Customer Support Representative II
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
09.1995 - 05.1997
- Performed customer support for approximately 3,000 users in Novell LAN environment
- Optimized and customized users workstations
- User Training: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.1, WordPerfect Office 4.0a, GroupWise 4.1, WordPerfect 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1, Lotus 123 ver 2.4, 3.1, 3.4 and Release 5, MSWord, MSAccess, MSPowerPoint, Excel, Winfax, PCAnywhere, Harvard Graphics, and Netscape
Education
Bachelor of Science - Information Systems Management
University of Maryland
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) -
Microsoft
Critical Thinking -
American Management Association
Administering Cisco Unified Communications -
Global Knowledge
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices -
Global Knowledge
Exchange server 2007 -
Global Knowledge
Certified ScrumMaster -
Scrum Alliance
03.2019
Tintri Certified SE (TCSE)
01-2014
Skills
- Jira Project Management
- Confluence
- Lucid Chart
- Agile methodology
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Stakeholder engagement
- Project management
- Effective communication
- Conflict resolution
- Team leadership
- Time management
- Project planning and development
- Team collaboration
- Relationship building
- Project tracking
- Stakeholder communications
Timeline
Project Manager
The Carlyle Group
01.2019 - Current
Telecom Systems Engineer
The Carlyle Group
07.2015 - 12.2018
Systems Engineer
The Carlyle Group
09.2013 - 06.2015
Senior Systems Administrator
The JBG Companies
10.2011 - 08.2013
Network Engineer
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
11.2009 - 10.2011
Network Engineer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
05.1997 - 11.2009
Customer Support Representative II
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
09.1995 - 05.1997
Administering Cisco Unified Communications -
Global Knowledge
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices -
Global Knowledge
Exchange server 2007 -
Global Knowledge
Certified ScrumMaster -
Scrum Alliance
Bachelor of Science - Information Systems Management
University of Maryland
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) -
Microsoft
Critical Thinking -
American Management Association
Tintri Certified SE (TCSE)
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