Catherine Spruill

Manage project phases and critical path activities to completion. Develop project and divisional budgets and financial reports for review, justification and approval. Forecast funding, expenses, and variances from $44 million budget for center providing services to large internal national research projects. Collaborate with local and national leaders and staff in R&D, finance, IT, HR, and facilities.

* Increased funding (grants) $500,000 by auditing financial documents and demonstrating compliance with VA regulations and SOPs.

* Achieve project and financial accountability (scope, budget, staff, timeline, etc.) by developing complex, center-wide Access database with data security access.

* Decreased lost knowledge 60% (due to high attrition) by developing, gaining approval, and implementing cross-training program.

Hired, supervised staff, and managed workflow and end of semester performance evaluations. Bridged policy and procedural difficulties with museum patrons through clear and persuasive communication.

* Reduced employee turnover 15% by using conflict management tools to identify and limit both substantive and affective encounters between team members.

* Increased patron positive responses to “uniformed security” 40%.

Led and trained 60 non-commissioned officers and sailors performing troubleshooting and preventative maintenance on security systems. Audited staff spending on a semi-monthly basis. Evaluated project and program requirements to ensure key milestones and deliverables were achievable. Developed a staffing system to manage changeover of staff from one shift or function to the next. Performed quality assurance checks for over $200,000 of inventory monthly.

* Saved $15,000 quarterly (20 “man hours” weekly) by reducing time for shift and function changes.

* Reduced training time and expenses ($10,000 quarterly) by collecting requirements and translating them into progressive programs and practices.