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The Tambellini Group’s diverse team is passionate about helping colleges and universities succeed because we’ve been in your shoes. As former institutional CIOs, administrators, technology executives and educators, we are committed to applying our expertise to empower our peers at the hundreds of colleges and universities we serve.
Nickname?
Missy to my parents and Meesh to my friends
Where do you work from home?
Austin, TX
What’s your ideal WFH location?
My parents’ cabin in Maine in the summer
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
January 2018
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A singer, a professional runner, and a novelist
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Hypatia of Alexandria. I would try to save her from her ill fate.
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
The simpler phones we used to have. I miss them being smaller and not having so many distractions on them. We used to not have to worry about what social media access was doing to us and all of that.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Yes. Tambellini has a culture of mutual trust and respect. Everyone’s given a great deal of autonomy and freedom. Everyone respects each other’s capabilities.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
I am proud of the reports and case studies I’ve written for the Tambellini portal and I’m also proud of the way the research team continues to build and refine the Tambellini database to offer better insights to our analysts and clients.
Nickname?
Dawnny or Dusk
Where do you work from home?
Cleveland, OH
What’s your ideal WFH location?
Australia, or anywhere I can sit outside.
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
June 2021
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A lawyer or a writer
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Anna Wintour
Nickname?
Googleguacamole
Where do you work from home?
My office
What’s your ideal WFH location?
The bat cave, but relocated to a penthouse, maybe in Paris
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
August 2020
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A CIA analyst who occasionally saves the world
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Ernest Hemingway
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
I might have had an MP3 player, but I definitely didn’t understand how the music got into the little box.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Of course, virtual workplaces have culture. The analyst team channels are supportive—we look out for each other. We also have a wicked GIF game.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
I’m a designer—My teammates have made space for me to design onboarding materials, writing guides, digital artifacts, and workflows that help us get on the same page faster and more effectively.
What do you hope to see for higher ed in the future?
More listening—and confidence that we can figure things out. Right now, everyone is talking past each other; administrators are concerned about efficiency and outcomes, faculty are concerned about how they are evaluated, staff are frustrated by their lack of influence and power, and students are getting caught in the middle. Everyone’s concerns are entirely valid, and we need to find a way to embrace the complexity and work through all of it together.
Where do you work from home?
In the third bedroom turned office.
What’s your ideal WFH location?
The screened-in porch when the weather is right!
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
November 2019
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A musician. I came very close to applying to music school, but my parents were sure it wasn’t practical. They were probably right.
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Abraham Lincoln
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
My first portable MP3 that I could take to the gym. It was amazing and new!
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Absolutely. We have cultural norms in how we communicate which technology we use. In Tambellini, we have fun and we laugh. Culture changes all the time. It is never stuck. Especially in a changing and growing company like ours. I feel like we are developing a really open and positive culture where we get to take our work seriously, but we don’t have to be serious all the time. We laugh a lot and that’s one of my favorite things about the teams that I work with.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
That’s a hard question because nearly everything we do is built by a team. I can’t point to anything individually, the work we do and the way that we work together is what makes me proud.
Why do you love Tambellini?
Every day I get to “come into work” and make a positive impact on institutions across the country, and I get to do it with a team of people I love to work with. We are a small, but a strong team that is growing and refining what we do every day and that is a lot of fun.
What do you hope to see for higher ed in the future?
I hope higher ed continues to focus on students and deliver innovative education while remembering the history of higher education and why some of the critical traditions are there. Questions that seem so simple outside of academia are really not simple questions. There needs to be a balance between creating institutions that teach people how to do jobs and institutions that educate people.
Nickname?
Lala
Where do you work from home?
Dedicated home office based in Richmond, VA
What’s your ideal WFH location?
Mountain cabin with a great view and good internet
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
October 2016
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Archaeologist or architect
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
iTunes—uploading my CDs to a computer, buying music online, and mixing everything together on iTunes was everything at the time and it still is.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Absolutely—I luckily started the company with another marketing team member and from our first phone call there was strong comradery and connection. From Tambellini’s evolution, team members may have changed but our virtual environment hasn’t hindered our ability to engage and collaborate and communicate with each other.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
Building awareness of Tambellini through social media. When I started, we didn’t really have much to talk about. Now, we have analysts out doing events, research being written, podcasts, blogs, etc.
Nickname?
TiTi
Where do you work from home?
Nashville, TN
What’s your ideal WFH location?
The beach with fiber-optic wifi
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
September 2019
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Pediatrician
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
My Pop
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
iPod. I loved the idea of having 1000 songs in your pocket.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Yes. At Tambellini, the culture is collaborative. There are a lot of experts here, but everyone is willing to work together, pitch in and help each other out, which is sometimes hard to do when you are virtual.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
Building a marketing team. When I came, we only had two people in the marketing department. We now have six and I think that our marketing team is the best and one of the best teams I’ve ever managed.
Nickname?
Beka
Where do you work from home?
Bowling Green, KY
What’s your ideal WFH location?
Somewhere near the Grand Tetons
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
May 2021
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An English professor
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
John Muir—”Father” of the National Parks
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
The original Xbox. My husband and I are big gamers and the original Xbox set us on this pathway of what gaming has become now. It was this game-changing, groundbreaking piece of tech that has come so far in 20 years. It’s fun to watch the trajectory—plus, I am a big gamer.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Virtual workplaces can absolutely have a culture—in fact, I find that virtual workplace culture isn’t that different than in-person workplaces. At Tambellini, I consider our culture to be welcoming. Even though we’re virtual it’s incredibly easy to chat with teammates both on a personal level and professionally. I also love that we certainly put our professional foot forward when we need to, but we also know how to be casual when the moment calls for it.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
I had a call a few weeks ago where the member told me they had read some of my research prior to the call and they found it incredibly helpful and sort of set the stage for the phone call we were having that day. To be able to say “Oh, I am doing work that is making a difference” is exciting and satisfying for me.
What do you hope to see for higher ed in the future?
The first thing I really want is more inclusion of all voices and I mean that from a student perspective, staff, parents, alumni, but also for diversity’s sake. For example, the underrepresentation of women in higher ed needs to change and it needs to change quickly. The other thing that is critical is that institutions have to reinvest in foundational systems. IT has been sort of this in the corner, “it work’s we don’t really think about it that much” and I think institutions have to reverse course there. We have to be talking about a good, solid foundation to support students from aspects and you can’t do that unless you’re investing in IT. So I hope that trend of budgets getting smaller, staffing getting smaller stops and reverses itself so institutions can make proper investments into IT to support all aspects of the institution.
Where do you work from home?
I go to a dedicated office every day that is not in my home.
What’s your ideal WFH location?
I prefer a real office space that is not a part of the home space.
How long have you worked at Tambellini?
April 2021
If you could go to dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
My grandmother and grandfather who are no longer with us.
Favorite piece of technology from 20 years ago and why?
I am drawn to the exercise of applied technology and the associated outcomes. For me, the lens that I look through is when someone uses a piece of technology to accomplish something that they could not previously, I love that.
Do you think that virtual workplaces can have a culture? If so, how would you describe the culture of Tambellini?
Virtual workplaces can absolutely have a culture. At Tambellini, people are incredibly accommodating of finding this balance between fully available for the team and simultaneously being able to have a life as well. It requires everyone being on the same page for it to successfully happen and I experience it every day at Tambellini.
What accomplishment are you most proud of at work?
When a member validates that we were really a key part of them solving a complex problem and/or moving their institution forward.
What do you hope to see for higher ed in the future?
I hope to see higher ed improve its ability to leverage tools to focus on the individual and allow individual desires, dreams, and capabilities to emerge in a way that improves the lives of all the students.
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