Vanessa Fields
Riverview
Summary
Product Manager focused on solving the right problem at the right time. Skilled at translating complex stakeholder needs into clear, actionable requirements for engineering teams. Builds clarity, consistency, and connection across every touchpoint, while navigating high tension conversations with a calm, grounded approach shaped by my years as an elementary school teacher.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
3
3
Certifications
Work History
Product Manager
IOU Financial
Kennesaw
01.2025 - Current
- Delivered the Metro2 Reporting Tool, enabling Collection Management Specialists to generate a formatted CSV that integrates with Hutchins Cloud for accurate and efficient credit reporting.
- Led end-to-end implementation of loan fee application for Collections and Finance, defining requirements for fee assessment, fee collection, loan payment lifecycle updates, internal and external investor reporting.
- Improved Account Executive and Processor validation workflows by integrating third-party data sources Baselayer and Heron, reducing manual validation and increasing decision accuracy.
- Evaluated performance metrics to assess product effectiveness, along with user surveys, to identify areas for improvement.
- Maintained and prioritized the product and engineering backlog, ensuring alignment with business priorities and development team capacity.
- Maintained comprehensive product roadmaps for key initiatives, ensuring alignment with company goals and stakeholder priorities.
- Led workshops to identify overlapping touch points and outline loan handoffs across department.
Business Analyst
IOU Financial
Kennesaw
01.2024 - 01.2025
- Collaborate with stakeholders to identify problems, outline business requirements, and develop success criteria.
- Triaged the help desk for platform bugs and feature requests, and converting them into clear, actionable work items for the development team.
- Coordinated software releases and provided consistent project status updates to stakeholders.
- Updated existing documentation as needed based on changes in workflows and new features.
- Led workshops to demonstrate best practices for agile methodologies between the business and development teams.
Quality Assurance Engineer
IOU Financial
Kennesaw
03.2022 - 01.2024
- Worked with Agile, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies to accomplish project milestones and meet demanding timelines.
- Reviewed test cases created by the product and stakeholders prior to execution.
- Report and track defects, create test reports and publish test metrics at end of
testing cycle - Identified, documented, and tracked bugs throughout the development process using JIRA.
Educator
Hillsborough County Public Schools
Valrico
07.2016 - 03.2022
- Served as the math instructional lead for the school, representing the team in countywide meetings to review district assessments, analyze performance data, and evaluate proposed curriculum Translated insights into clear guidance for staff, and supported the math team with clarification and implementation.entation.
- Delivered targeted instruction in both departmentalized and self-contained classroom structures, adapting teaching strategies across math, science, and general curriculum to meet diverse student needs.
- Leveraged educational technology tools such as Canvas, Clever, I-Ready, and Google Workspace to streamline learning, increase student engagement, and simplify navigation for second-grade students.
- Partnered with ESE, AGP, and ELL specialists to differentiate instruction and develop individualized education plans for students, ensuring equitable learning outcomes across diverse student groups.
- Maintained consistent communication with key stakeholders, including administration and families, through Remind101 to ensure alignment, transparency, and strong relationships.
- Second-grade team lead, resolving peer conflicts, coordinating cross-grade data and reporting for administration, and addressing district and instructional challenges across the team.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL05-2016
Skills
- Agile methodologies
- Requirements gathering
- Performance metrics analysis
- ROI analysis
- Stakeholder relations
- User story creation
- Product backlog management
- Retrospective analysis
- Interpersonal communication
- Instructional design
- Differentiated instruction
- Conflict resolution
- Team building initiatives
- Workshop facilitation
- Figma software
- Jira, atlassian, rally
Certification
Elementary Education K-6 Teacher - The Florida Department of Education
Timeline
Product Manager
IOU Financial
01.2025 - Current
Business Analyst
IOU Financial
01.2024 - 01.2025
Quality Assurance Engineer
IOU Financial
03.2022 - 01.2024
Educator
Hillsborough County Public Schools
07.2016 - 03.2022
Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education
University of South Florida