She is a healthcare project director and certified project manager with more than 25 years’ experience in acute hospital settings, successfully implementing projects that make things work for the hospital, the staff, patients and families. In her role, she is directly responsible for the supervision and completion of complex projects including system applications and upgrades, construction space design, move planning, and process and workflow redesign.

She loves working with teams and individuals to bring their expertise to the table and incorporate it into project plans, learning and growing with them to achieve goals. The company's ability to “make things work” is directly related to its commitments and dedication to improving the foundational elements of a health care organization for the betterment of all.

She believes there is a solution to everything and guides processes that reveal the steps that are necessary to transition from a current state to a future state, achieve goals and move ahead.

In addition to her work as a hospital project director, she is the executive director of Connect the Dots, LLC and the author of a book of poetry called "Between Shifts."

 Connect the Dots is a project management consulting company and mentoring website. Its mission is to “promote the growth and success of individuals and teams in health care”. The company believes that with the right support and planning, projects can be led to successful completion and implementation. There are basic needs that must be accomplished in order to fulfill this: project assessment, analysis, adherence to scope, cost and quality, accurate and thorough communication and an ability to make calculated adjustments if changing variables arise. 

Connect the Dots believes that managing projects does not have to be so hard and seeks to sort, organize and prioritize the steps needed to achieve desired outcomes. In addition the company is committed to success that drives the work they do.

The website  www.ctdnow.com is a free archived resource site for all and contains articles on best practice and standard content, templates and blogs.

The company can be reached via email through thewebsite.

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She chose this career path because she gets to work with people to make things work.

She has chosen a health care career and positions in hospitals that allow her to continue to learn and assist others in the delivery of care and services to patients. She is invested in the optimum care of patients and the support of team members. She began with years in nursing and nursing leadership, becoming the director of critical care and cardiology services in a community hospital. After receiving a master’s degree in management, she pursued additional education in project management and change management because she saw strategies and tools were missing in projects to complete the objectives and transitions. Her work allows her to actively and effectively assist organizations in determining plans and processes that will lead them to achieving goals, and in making things work!

She prepared for this career by being open to opportunities as they arose, and continuing her education; all the steps she has taken along the way have led to where she is now. She knows that change is a constant in life and she was always willing to accept new challenges. She began with a bachelor’s degree in behavior and then became an registered nurse. Her years as a nursing leader moved her to a master’s degree in management, then certifications in project management and change management. She believes her greatest asset, however, is her communication skills--both the fine art of listening and the act of speaking which conveys accuracy, thoroughness and understanding.

The biggest challenge she has had to overcome is learning how to effectively lead people to accept change by being prepared for change. This takes careful analysis, planning and strategic communications. By guiding this work the logical next steps can become visible to the team. Everyone won’t like what is happening, but they will be able understand the progression, to see the needs with the goals and consciously choose to buy in or not.

Her greatest strength is recognizing the expertise and skill sets of team members, and creating collaborative processes that bring projects and people through all the phases of work to implementation and live. 

She feels that she achieves things every day so it is hard to describe a single greatest accomplishment. She is most rewarded when she sees that the end products of a project meet objectives and goals and make a difference in the work lives of staff and all end users.   

Her continuing goals include expanding Connect the Dots services and beginning to work with other types of businesses. This gives her more opportunities to learn, grow and share.

On a personal level, she has started another book, a children's book including adventures with imaginary friends in elemental kingdoms that she enjoys writing immensely! Stay tuned for Cassie and Patrick!

There are many wonderful people who have helped and mentored her in her life, and she thanks all of them for sharing their gifts. Above all, she holds Mother Theresa in highest esteem.

She is inspired by the opportunity to create improvements and facilitate solutions. She is very passionate about what she does, and seeing positive results is a motivation for her to keep going and dig deeper.

She wants to be known for being open to ideas and challenges, and working with people to maximize their potential. As a project leader, she is only as good as the people on her teams, and she tries to cultivate their participation and sharing of knowledge and expertise.  When they are successful, she is successful.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS); American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE); American Association of Critical Care Nurses

She received the 2014 Challenge coin for "extraordinary partnership, willingness to collaborate, and dedication shown in helping us become a better company" from the hospital's communication partner, Voalte.

New Hampshire Food Banks; Maine Food Banks; American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; New Generation, Inc.; Children of the Nations, International

She is passionate about creative writing, and loves to wordsmith. She is also a self-proclaimed obsessed fanatic flower gardener, and create spaces of sanctuary for birds and wildlife.