Laura Terbrack
Director, Application Development
Monroe,MI
Summary
Committed Senior IT Director who believes that employees are the most important company resource. I have a talent for building highly effective teams, based on trust and collaboration. For over 30 years, I’ve been helping government organizations and companies build and support applications. I also have a rich background in technical architecture and technical writing/training.
Overview
33
33
years of professional experience
8
8
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Director of Application Development
Wayne RESA
8 2019 - Current
- Identified and acquired appropriate third-party solutions to integrate into development processes
- Formulated strategies for application development framework creation and developmental processes
- Supervised aspects of development teams such as hiring, training, salary administration and remedial assignments
- Provided technical leadership of development for numerous simultaneous application products
- Reviewed and assessed architecture design, implementation, testing and deployment needs to identify project requirements and costs
- Communicated regularly with customers concerning data exchange and technology integration
- Defined project-wide performance metrics such as developmental milestones, timeline goals and required completion dates
- Allied with Business Services and Networking departments to better meet overall business goals
- Developed strategic plans for application development, aligning business objectives with technology solutions to drive growth and profitability
- Spearheaded migration efforts from legacy systems to modern platforms, ensuring minimal downtime during transitions while maximizing long-term benefits
- Involvement in METL, WETL, and other state initiatives as time permits
- Member of the eighth cohort of Wayne RESA's SEED (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) Program
Technology Manager
Ford Motor Company
09.2018 - 05.2019
- Led seven global teams in the development tools space, enabling technologies for Ford Motor Company's development community
- Overall responsibility of 80+ people located in North America, Europe and India
- Overall responsibility of $5.6M budget
- Successfully worked with vendors and suppliers to negotiate contracts and look for efficiencies, saving Ford Motor Company more than $1M over a three year period for one development tool
- Developed a strategy and plan to streamline the number of development tools being used by Ford Motor Company
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Investigated system issues and implemented resolutions to reduce downtime
- Researched and adopted new technologies to add value to existing offerings
- Collaborated with stakeholders to transform client requirements into turnkey solutions
- Local Chair of the Enterprise Architecture Professional Development Committee
- Member of the Central IT Professional Development Committee
- Enterprise Architecture lead for the Pulse Action Team
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
Technology Manager
Ford Motor Company
01.2018 - 08.2018
- Led a small team to determine API Platform Strategy for Ford Motor Company
- Became an expert in Ford's new Product Driven Organization model and shared that information in team meetings and skip levels
- Researched and performed benchmarking of industry best in class API catalogs and developer portals to determine what types of options would work best for Ford Motor Company; wrote a position paper on this and delivered a presentation to C-level management with recommendations
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Local Chair of the Mobility Product Platform Professional Development Committee
- Member of the Central IT Professional Development Committee
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
- Mentor for Ford IT's Mentoring Circle program
Technology Manager
Guides, Ford Motor Company
01.2016 - 12.2017
- Led two global teams focused on strategy and delivery for the Guides and Appreciation parts of the FordPass Mobile App
- Successfully launched multiple versions of Guides and Appreciation in North America, Europe, and China; planned Guides launch for Brazil
- Collaborated with Microsoft to determine best strategy for launching FordPass Guides in China
- Overall responsibility of $5M budget
- Led multiple workshops in different regions to determine market specific requirements for each region
- Collaborated with C-level management to plan product roadmaps
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
- Mentor for Ford IT's Mentoring Circle program
IT Leadership Program Candidate/Supervisor
Ford Motor Company
12.2012 - 12.2015
- Was nominated and selected to participate in Ford IT's Leadership Program, which consists of three one-year rotations to prepare for senior level technology management
- Rotation One: Application Management Supervisor
- Led a global team, with employees in the United States and India
- Analyzed production support procedures and recommended changes to help streamline support issues
- Dealt with employee personnel issues and utilized HR tools to help navigate some of the more challenging situations
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Was a lead interviewer for Ford IT's external hiring and Ford College Graduate program
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
- Rotation Two: Connectivity Advanced Research Supervisor
- Worked with an external automotive consortium to determine methods to secure vehicle to vehicle messages for federal government safety initiatives
- Successfully led IT team as part of a cross-functional team (consisting of Marketing, Product Development, and Information Technology) to determine strategy for utilizing after market devices in used vehicles to enable connectivity service; presented final recommendations to C-level management and received approval to move forward with the first of two phases
- Designed and implemented the proof of concept experiment to test vehicles with after market devices
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Was a lead interviewer for Ford IT's external hiring and Ford College Graduate program
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
- Rotation Three: Application Delivery Supervisor
- Led a global team, with employees in the United States and Europe
- Managed delivery objectives and the release schedule for a global vehicle delivery system, using waterfall and Agile techniques
- Conducted all aspects of employee performance management process (performance reviews, 360's, objective setting, development plans, etc)
- Was a lead interviewer for Ford IT's external hiring and Ford College Graduate program
- Ford IT core member for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology
Collaborative Technology Research Lead
Ford Motor Company
05.2010 - 11.2012
- Led a small team to research collaborative technologies
- Ran multiple successful proof of concept experiments to determine technology feasibility of use at Ford Motor Company
- Wrote research papers on findings of proof of concept experiment work
- Wrote research papers on findings of new technology discussed at conferences, Gartner briefings, etc
- Designed SharePoint Innovation wiki site for Ford IT
- Co-Chair for the Architecture Community of Practice
Solution Architect
Ford Motor Company
01.2005 - 04.2010
- Implementation and management of the Enterprise Architecture Assurance (EAA) process for Plant Floor IT Systems
- Managed Plant One certification lab
- Managed cycle planning for Plant Floor IT systems
- Designed server consolidations and hardware implementations/renewals for Plant Floor IT systems and the Ford Dealer Portal
- Provided expert troubleshooting guidance for the Ford Dealer Portal
- Planning committee member for the Architecture Community of Practice
- Planning committee member for the ADS Pulse Action Team
Portal Consultant
Compuware
09.2002 - 12.2004
- Support of the Ford Dealer Portal on Plumtree Portal version 4.5WS
- Worked with various areas within the organization to get items necessary for the Ford Dealer Portal, including DNS entries, firewall holes, emails accounts, web/application/DB space, etc
- Managed the Architecture Review Board (ARB) process for new applications joining the Ford Dealer Portal
- Coordinated project plans for large initiatives
- Developed and maintained system documentation
- Assisted in functional and technical reviews of new applications and plug-in's
- Researched new Portal software components and the effects they would have on the existing infrastructure
Portal Consultant and Technical Trainer
Plumtree Software
01.2001 - 08.2002
- Development and maintenance of the Plumtree Corporate Portal Foundations 4.5WS/4.5 classes, Plumtree Portal Architecture & Administration 4.5WS class, and Plumtree Collaboration Server 1.0/1.5 classes
- Created classroom training environments at public training vendor sites
- Maintained technical competency of all facets of Plumtree Software, including installation, administration and Gadget/Portlet Web Service development, to enable ease of building training materials and facilitating classroom instruction
- Trained Plumtree customers in the use of Plumtree Software
- Wrote proposals/justifications for training, software and hardware purchases
- Interviewed potential training employees and made hiring recommendations
- DHTML, HTML, ASP, VBScript, JavaScript and Visual Basic programming at customer sites to enhance the out-of-box features of Plumtree Software
- SQL Server Database development, specifically the use of Stored Procedures, to enhance the out-of-box features
Senior Operations Research Analyst
Internal Revenue Service
09.1997 - 12.2000
- Managed the upgrades, maintenance and Y2K activities for a national PC database system
- Led research, development and implementation of new technologies for mainframe and PC systems
- Co-Chaired the Cooperative Education Task Force
- Gave presentations at various state banking seminars to encourage and promote use of magnetic media filing of sensitive tax information
- Trained customers in the use of internal database systems and IRS employees in the use of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, HTML and ASP
- Wrote proposals/justifications for training, software, and hardware purchases
- Managed the work of ten developers working on mainframe and client/server systems
- Interviewed potential employees and made hiring recommendations
Operations Research Analyst
Internal Revenue Service
01.1991 - 08.1997
- Application developer using Fortran and MVS/TSO for a legacy mainframe statistical system
- Application developer using C for a PC system that aided the IRS in the determination of fraudulent returns
- Application developer for automating paper systems into PC database systems using Microsoft Access, SQL Server and Visual Basic
Education
Bachelor of Science - Computer & Information Systems
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit 09.1989 - 05.1993
Master of Science - Information Technology
Kettering University
Flint 06.2005 - 05.2009
Skills
PresentationsFinancials/BudgetsEnterprise ArchitectureIT StrategySoftware Development LifecycleAgile TechniquesTechnical TrainingApplication DevelopmentApplication SupportProject/Program ManagementPortal TechnologyEmployee Management
SEED
MSBO CTO Certification
MSBO Leadership Institute Current Cohort
Timeline
Technology Manager
Ford Motor Company
09.2018 - 05.2019
Technology Manager
Ford Motor Company
01.2018 - 08.2018
Technology Manager
Guides, Ford Motor Company
01.2016 - 12.2017
IT Leadership Program Candidate/Supervisor
Ford Motor Company
12.2012 - 12.2015
Collaborative Technology Research Lead
Ford Motor Company
05.2010 - 11.2012
Master of Science - Information Technology
Kettering University
06.2005 - 05.2009
Solution Architect
Ford Motor Company
01.2005 - 04.2010
Portal Consultant
Compuware
09.2002 - 12.2004
Portal Consultant and Technical Trainer
Plumtree Software
01.2001 - 08.2002
Senior Operations Research Analyst
Internal Revenue Service
09.1997 - 12.2000
Operations Research Analyst
Internal Revenue Service
01.1991 - 08.1997
Bachelor of Science - Computer & Information Systems
University of Detroit Mercy
09.1989 - 05.1993
Director of Application Development
Wayne RESA
8 2019 - Current