Valerie Atkinson

Serves as administrative support for six Branches in DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory/Army Research Directorate, under the Electromagnetic Spectrum Sciences (EMSS) Division and EMSS Front Office

• Duties consist of scheduling, coordinating and assisting with classified/unclassified meetings for the Division Chief, Assistant Division Chief, and the six Branches of EMSS as needed.
• Coordinates travel arrangements for the Division Chief and Invitational Travelers facilitating cross-organizational and cross-agency funding efforts.
• Submits clearance requests and visit requests for the Division Chief and Branch personnel, to support DoD funding acquisition efforts.
• Serves as visitor escort liaison, implementing logistics and event/meeting coordination support for the Division Chief and all six Branches within the EMSS Division as needed.
• Facilitates team meetings to discuss project progress, goals and objectives.
• Assists with planning and coordination of meetings and events involving high profile personnel within the Department of The Army and other agencies, facilitating the success of cross-agency collaboration for research objectives in support of the war-fighter.
• Facilitates communication between cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
• Approaches customers and engages in conversation through use of effective interpersonal and people skills.
• Collaborates closely with team members to achieve project objectives and meet deadlines.
• Contributes innovative ideas and solutions to enhance team performance and outcomes.
• Assists the Admin Officer (AO) with onsite and virtual workshop/event coordination, resulting in effective execution of mission-critical objectives to secure research funding.
• Analyzes, prepares and processes government purchase requests utilizing various government software systems.
• Performs bi-weekly timekeeping audits, and as-needed retroactive adjustments utilizing the government payroll system.
• Generates shipping and return requests for various research projects, utilizing government shipping software. Serves as liaison between researchers and warehouse personnel to ensure pick-up and delivery of shipments, ensuring research deadlines are met.
• Generates request for quotes and statements of non-availability submissions within the government procurement system for pending software/ hardware and research-related purchases as required.
• Generates submissions within the government system for pending purchases that require special approval.
• Facilitates equipment assignment and transfer of government property documentation.
• Prepares annual financial reimbursements for the Division Chief and Branch Chiefs.
• Manages and coordinates equipment and office space readiness for new hires and existing employees as needed.
• Supports the Admin Officer (AO) with onboarding processes for new hires.
• Assists with reviewing established procedures to assess areas in need of improvement.
• Assists with development and implementation of new procedures for streamlining operations.
• Promotes high customer satisfaction by resolving problems with knowledgeable and friendly service.
• Maintains updated knowledge through continuing education and training.
• Exceeds customer satisfaction by finding creative solutions to problems, resulting in successful execution of mission-critical objectives for the DoD.
• Implements unique methods and methodologies, which helped reduce, and resolve issues.
• Liaises between committees and remote facilities, delivering senior leadership decisions and reporting on individual branch performance metrics.
• Conducts analysis for Annual metrics data collection, develops reports and presents findings to senior management.
• Demonstrates strong problem-solving skills, resolving issues efficiently and effectively, facilitating collaboration efforts for essential research personnel.
• Provides excellent service and attention to customers when face-to-face or through phone, TEAMS and email conversations.
• Identifies needs of customers promptly and efficiently.
• Recognized by management for providing exceptional customer service.

• Served as the Project Manager of the Turn-Key division of BrightKey
• Responsible for the management and quality of the day-to-day workload of assigned clients, such as monitoring and assessing team activities and procedures to ensure a profitable and efficient operation
• Developed and maintained a professional relationship with the client, regularly reporting status and details of client accounts to the Operations Manager of the team, managing a team of Customer Service Professionals including proper training, disciplinary action and completing performance reviews
• Overseeing the daily workload of the team and ensuring contractual obligations are met
• Ensuring CSP team is providing a professional level of customer service by performing call monitoring, coaching, and providing feedback for improvement
• Coaching the assigned staff into becoming excellent Customer Service Professionals

• Served as the Scheduling and Front Desk Manager for three office locations at City Dental DC
• Responsible for handling a wide range of functions such as training of new hires, creating instructional documents for staff relating to software, system use, patient flow, and Front Desk etiquette
• Serving as a continual resource to all front desk personnel, maximizing office production by conducting insurance consultations with patients to facilitate patient understanding of expenses for services proposed and rendered
• Facilitated the scheduling process by targeting preferred mode of communication to maximize scheduling efficiency
• Worked very closely with all staff members as part of a team to provide the best experience for the patients
• Managed the daily Front Desk operations necessary to keep a competitive edge by ensuring a pleasant patient experience from scheduling to checkout
• Ensuring the dental office stays aware of the latest laws regarding patient rights, and privacy
• Responsible for administering trainings and orientations to new employees, in addition to handling phone and email correspondence for all offices as back up to staff
• Selected to record voice over marketing materials for all office locations
• Created and distributed employee work schedules in accordance with labor laws.
• Developed a backup plan for critical positions to ensure uninterrupted service.
• Coordinated with HR to onboard new hires, including scheduling interviews and orientation sessions.
• Maintained accurate records of daily attendance data for payroll processing purposes.
• Provided reminder calls to clients prior to scheduled visits.
• Managed appointment setting, cancellations, and rescheduling for clients, enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Negotiated with vendors and service providers to schedule maintenance and support services.
• Led weekly scheduling meetings to address concerns, distribute assignments, and gather feedback.
• Managed room and resource bookings for internal and external meetings and events.
• Consulted with department managers regarding staffing needs and shift changes.
• Streamlined office processes and procedures to boost profits and productivity and facilitate continuous improvements.
• Coordinated scheduling for a team of over 20 employees, ensuring optimal coverage and efficiency.

• Promoted to Customer Service Supervisor for Aetna Dental after Aetna took over Group Dental Service
• Responsible for training and mentoring staff to ensure smooth adoption of new Dental Insurance software program, demonstrating ability to lead and motivate an outstanding Dental Insurance care team, ensuring HIPAA compliance, and maintaining office account receivables, completing OSHA and HIPAA compliance training
• I have extensive knowledge of Dental Procedures and Coding
• Providing detailed dental insurance benefit information to Dental Providers, and dental insurance policy holders via phone, fax or email
• Researching outstanding claims and providing customer resolution for a variety of dental insurance products
• Providing customer support, data entry and collection for account receivables for a variety of discount plan enrollees
• Performing quality assurance monitoring and reporting for a staff of 16 customer service representatives
• Assisting the manager with the creation and implementation of training materials for new hires and lateral transfers
• Serving as a resource for trainees and existing customer service representatives
• Resolving customer service escalations via phone or email

• Serving as Customer Service Rep for Group Dental Service with extensive knowledge of Dental Procedures and Coding
• Providing detailed dental insurance benefit information to Dental Providers, and dental insurance policy holders via phone, fax or email
• Researching outstanding claims and providing customer resolution for a variety of dental insurance products
• Providing customer support, data entry, collecting and processing payments for a variety of discount plan enrollees