Q&A

1. Tell us about your data management professional journey, what did you aspire to be when you were growing up?
   Growing up I always wanted to help people & animals. At one point, I wanted to be a teacher, then I realized the value of money & decided that being a veterinarian would afford a more conducive lifestyle plus helping the animals I'd come to love. Little did I know I was going to be tending to the reckless wild beasts of data lakes in an effort to support the many people consuming the information. I took a co-op job in high school that led me down the pathway of learning more about the oil & gas industry to the extent of figuring out how someone with no college education could serve a purpose for a small EP company. Subsequently, I ended up working & going to school simultaneously pursuing a pathway that has led me to become immersed in how to make data usable, consumable, searchable, spatialized but, most notably trusted through quality processes.
2. Tell us why taking the CPDA exam became a priority out of the professional certifications that you wanted to achieve.
   I saw the CPDA as being one of the more recognized certifications in the petroleum industry for the career path I have chosen. At the time I decided to pursue this exam, the industry was suffering from low oil prices & the company I was working for was about to end up in bankruptcy with no chance of emersion. I was seeking a way to gain the acknowledgement for my many years of experience performing a role through the validity of a recognized & accredited organization such as PPDM. Also, I chose pursing this certification first because the prerequisites were something I deemed achievable considering I had so many years of real-life exposure to the competencies being tested.
3. What tangible and intangible benefits have you gained from having your CPDA credentials?
   The most noteworthy tangible benefit is the beautiful four letters I get to put after my last name. I also appreciate attending a PPDM conference and seeing the additional ribbon on our name badges for having this CPDA accreditation. It is not only highlighting my achievement amongst my peers & perspective employers additionally it allows a community of other data evangelist to network & easily identify each other. The intangible benefits I feel largely outweigh the tangible I have thus forth come to realize. The achievement of making the strides towards maintaining the accreditation & continually finding the ways to earn the credits, that not only support the renewal process set forth by PPDM, they also provide me with the support to ensure I am continuing my education & personal development with the many expanding technologies.
4. You are an active volunteering member of the PPDM Association. Tell us how serving on a committee has elevated your knowledge in the data management profession.
   As professional we tend to gravitate towards areas of interest or more likely, those that align with our past experiences. Volunteering has exposed me to many varieties of subjects that I would have not had the opportunity to be exposed to. While my career and the companies I have worked towards have always support multi-disciplinary knowledge sharing, the depth of the subjects is greatly explored through the varying PPDM workgroups. I think the interesting thing to be exposed to through PPDM volunteering is being able to discover the many evolving ways our industry approaches data management solutions. The needs over the years seem to always be the same however, the method for resolving can reach far & wide with the help of navigating the technology evolution.
5. If you could be the CEO for a day in an E&P company, what is one piece of advice you would communicate to your leadership about data management?
   The reliance on data is undeniable. We must lead by example & build a culture that is data driven. In today's world, most jobs require an orientation towards data management & technology. Changes to support this take time to mature & this type of culture is influenced by the leadership the organization. Assuming that hardware & software alone will lead the organization to the end state that we seek to achieve is wishful thinking. Positioning ourselves to only have portfolio & people is not enough to be competitive savvy in this progressing market. Data management needs to be submerged in the organizational culture and if we encourage more critical thinking that will lead to greater business success.