NinjaHoldings Career Growth & Development

How does your team cultivate a culture of learning, whether that’s through hackathons, lunch and learns, access to online courses or other resources?

At NinjaHoldings, we foster a strong culture of continuous learning and innovation. Engineers are encouraged to attend industry conferences to stay current and bring back new ideas. We promote collaboration by supporting prototype development and experimentation with emerging technologies to solve real business challenges. Our teams regularly share knowledge through lunch-and-learn sessions, engineering demos and technical deep dives, creating a strong culture of open communication. Each engineer also has access to a dedicated learning budget that can be used for online courses, technical conferences or other educational resources to deepen their expertise. These efforts ensure learning is a core part of our daily work, empowering engineers to stay curious, level up their skills and drive meaningful impact.

How does this culture positively impact the work your team produces? 

Our culture of continuous learning directly improves the quality and innovation of our work. For example, by attending industry conferences, engineers gain exposure to emerging practices that inform architectural decisions and tooling choices. The ability to prototype and experiment with new technologies has led to more efficient solutions, such as improving our internal loan servicing tools and streamlining deployment workflows. Regular knowledge-sharing sessions foster cross team collaboration and reduce silos, helping us avoid redundant efforts and align more quickly on best practices. The dedicated learning budget empowers engineers to deepen their expertise in areas that directly support project goals, whether it’s cloud infrastructure, data engineering or front-end performance. Together, these practices create an environment where engineers are equipped and motivated to build scalable, thoughtful solutions that align with both user needs and business objectives.

What advice would you give to other engineers or engineering leaders interested in creating a culture of learning on their own team?

Focus on making learning a visible and supported part of your team’s culture. Set the example by sharing what you are learning and being open about what you do not know. Give engineers the time and space to explore new ideas, even if they are not tied to a roadmap item. Create opportunities for sharing. Lunch-and-learn sessions, demos or even informal Slack threads can go a long way. Provide a learning budget and encourage your team to use it for courses or conferences that genuinely interest them. Most importantly, reward growth, not just delivery. When people see that learning is valued, they will feel more comfortable taking initiative, asking questions and pushing boundaries in ways that lead to better outcomes for everyone.

Describe your career journey so far. What skills or experiences have you acquired along the way that have helped you get to where you are now?

My career in analytics spans more than 20 years across industries — from airlines to fintech to consulting. I began at United Airlines, where I learned how to think analytically and use data to drive business results. At Enova International, I stepped into a leadership role, building and leading teams, setting strategy and developing a vision. Later at Deloitte, I deepened my skills in communication and relationship-building — learning that how you deliver your message is as important as what you say. Now at NinjaHoldings, I’ve helped grow the company from its early stages by building the analytics strategy, fostering a data-driven culture and leading the analytics team through growth.

The skills that have helped me most are adaptability, strategic thinking, curiosity and communication. Adaptability has allowed me to thrive through change and take on new challenges. Strategic thinking helps me connect data to decisions and balance near-term results with long-term vision. Curiosity drives me to keep learning and explore new ways to solve problems. And communication — listening, connecting and building trust — has been essential in leading teams.

What support did you receive from individuals or resources that helped you step into a leadership role?

Throughout my career, the most impactful form of support has come from trusting relationships — with mentors, peers and team members.

When I first stepped into a higher-level leadership position, it was both exciting and intimidating. I had to take a leap of faith and trust the confidence my own leaders had in me, even when I didn’t fully have it in myself yet. What made the transition possible was the support system I had — people I could consult when facing new or unfamiliar challenges, managers who encouraged me to take risks and peers who were willing to collaborate and share their experiences.

I’ve learned not to be afraid of taking on new challenges or risks, even if it means making mistakes along the way. Mistakes are part of the learning process and what matters most is how you grow from them and apply those lessons moving forward.

I’ve been fortunate to work in organizations that value mentorship and invest in developing others. At NinjaHoldings, we strive to create that same environment for our next generation of leaders.

How do you encourage other women on your team to become leaders themselves? Are there any stories you can share that showcase how you’ve done this?

I’m genuinely happy to see more and more women entering tech and analytics and I’m excited about helping them grow into leadership roles. The first step for me is getting to know them as individuals — understanding their goals, strengths and what motivates them — and also sharing my own experiences. I encourage them to take ownership of their work, including both successes and failures and to see every challenge as an opportunity to learn. At the same time, I remind them that leadership doesn’t mean doing it alone — it’s important to ask for help and build strong, trusting relationships with team members, managers and peers. I also push them to step back from the day-to-day and think strategically, to connect what they do with the bigger picture and the “why” behind it. I encourage them to be more vocal and confident in sharing their ideas. One example I’m proud of is helping women on my team shift their focus from execution to leading initiatives, taking ownership and growing into strategic thinkers.