Colleen Tartow, Field CTO and Head of Strategy at VAST Data, shares her experience from years in data engineering leadership roles.

In this episode, Rebecca and Colleen talk about how “data” has evolved over the years, how AI is turning everything we know about data upside down, and how a PhD in Astrophysics got her started on this path.

Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/colleen-tartow-vast/

Timestamps (0:00) Introductions (0:44) Colleen’s background (3:01) About VAST’s approach (7:18) Unique challenges of data engineering (10:56) Setting reasonable expectations (13:34) The importance of process (16:29) The future of data engineering (21:00) What Colleen misses about engineering (22:39) How to set goals for a data organization (25:58) Colleen’s perspective on people in business (29:58) Colleen’s unusual path to data

Follow Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-tartow-phd/

Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/

Links and mentions • VAST Data: https://www.vastdata.com/

Andrea Corey is a VP of Engineering for platform engineering at Homebase.

In today’s episode, Rebecca and Andrea talk about Andrea’s experience in working at scaleups, the lessons she’s learned, the pitfalls she’s trained herself to avoid, and some of the biggest problems leaders need to solve as their organization grows.

Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/andrea-corey-homebase/

Timestamps (0:00) Introductions (0:46) Andrea’s background (4:37) Unlocking potential among teams (7:02) About Homebase’s team strategy (11:26) Tips to make ideas a reality (15:20) How Andrea manages multiple teams (18:11) Countering hero culture (21:44) Incident handling (25:19) Setting goals around incidents (27:23) Avoiding past mistakes (33:45) When to federate vs. centralize (37:01) Who Andrea wants to be

Follow Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreacorey/

Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/

Links and mentions • Homebase: https://joinhomebase.com/ • FreshBooks: https://www.freshbooks.com/ • Eloqua: https://www.oracle.com/cx/marketing/automation/

Liz Hustedt is a Senior Engineering Manager at ActBlue, an American political action committee and fundraising platform established serving left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians.

In today’s episode, Rebecca and Liz talk about how Liz’s early experience as an ICU nurse shaped her leadership skills and style, and about managing change in a way that’s empathetic to where the organization is at the moment.

Find the transcript at: https://www.unblocked.fm/episodes/liz-hustedt-actblue

Timestamps (00:00) Introductions (00:50) Liz’s background (04:00) About ActBlue and Liz’s experience there (08:55) Understanding team health (12:35) Building trust (15:15) Roadmap planning (20:07) How Liz and her team are evaluated (21:21) About outcome-driven goals (26:26) Tips to transition towards outcome-driven goals (28:59) Skills needed in management (34:34) Managing through change (40:50) Milestones and who Liz wants to be

Follow Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizhustedt/

Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmurphey/

Links and mentions • ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/