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**Katherine Fitzpatrick ADA Application 3/6/2017**



1.
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    1. 1-Why are you interested in programming? What have you done to expose yourself to programming so far?

My exposure to and interest in programming are a result of personal passion and professional necessity.

I may be dating myself but I got into computers in the 1990s because of a love of internet technologies back when websites were just basic HTML and chatting meant telnetting to a chat daemon to this day I remain fascinated by technology that connects us and build relationships.

Professionally my exposure to coding came as an IT information security professional, then information security project manager. I had to learn on the fly how to analyze computer virus code.  As a project manager, I have managed complicated data migration efforts that involved writing scripts and understanding complicated data schemas. Recently I managed a team of functional analysts supporting custom applications running supply-chain reports. I had to oversee the software development life cycle process utilizing Agile methodologies in order deliver applications that meet our business partners requirements.

While taking time off from Consulting I created and maintain a website for a non-profit organization. The site enables class and event registration, donations and payment along with calendar and news updates. I had the pleasure of growing their audience from hundreds to thousands of people utilizing out-of-the-box social media tools hacked together with my basic knowledge of XHTML and a tiny bit of Java.


2-If you are accepted into our program, where do you see your career in 5 years?

I plan on continuing to volunteer for non-profit organizations to assist them with increasing their outreach by putting procedures and systems in place to grow their network and facilitate the delivery of the services they offer. I plan on getting involved with non-profit organizations that promote female leadership, especially mother-led organizations.

I would like to move beyond template customization in open source platforms like Wordpress, and hacking together free and for purchase tools. I want to create custom solutions that solve real-world problems and meet the needs of individual non-profit organizations as they grow. To this end I would like to understand how to code to offer more sophisticated solutions like mobile applications and methods of programmatically displaying information that query large data sources to offer innovative content and services.

Untimely I hope that this program will help me marry my personal and professional interest. My plan after internship is complete is to go back to IT Project Management with a focus on becoming a Technical Project Manager supporting web applications delivery by working with a team of programmers ideally for a small and innovative startup so I can perform a dual management/developer role. In 5 years I plan on starting my own company which will allow me to originate and market my ideas.

3-After reading Ada's Vision, Mission and Inclusivity Statement, how will you contribute to Ada's vision for an inclusive and diverse community? [ ](http://adadevelopersacademy.org/program) [http://adadevelopersacademy.org/program](http://adadevelopersacademy.org/program)

I am on the board of a non-profit organization called Families of Color Seattle. Our mission is to build loving communities through children's' arts programs that build cultural competency, and by hosting open dialogues for parents on race and racial justice. Our vision is racial equity for our families and we acknowledge that a fundamental component of that is promoting diverse leaders from underrepresented communities. As a founding member of a board whose primary tenant is the promotion of Women of Color I feel as if my values align with Ada's Vision and Mission which include diversifying the technology industry.

4-Tell us about a time you made a mistake that you learned a lot from. If you encountered the situation again, what would you do differently?

One of my first jobs after taking a 5-year break from corporate America was taking over a data migration project from a Project Manager with my company who left the job and had little to no time for transition. The scope of the work involved migrating legal contracts from a legacy contract management system to a new system meant to standardize data management across departments. The project had run over by a year and the business partners were frustrated with the third-party vendor hired due to quality control issues.

The quality of the work provided by the vendor varied greatly from person to person and they couldn't articulate a definite procedure. I should have had the confidence to halt the entire effort the moment I took over the job to review all client and vendor procedural documentation for accuracy and consistency.

Because of the pressure of appearing competent the first day on the job at a new client site I put on a brave face and worked long hours trying to find the root cause of data quality issues. I put in overtime trying to track it down when I should have been thicker skinned and able to ignore the frustration of my client with timeline delays and systematically address procedural problems with the hostile and defensive third party vendor.

After that rocky start, I addressed the communication issues directly with both the vender and my client. There were data quality issues post-migration but they were markedly diminished after I was able to ensure and monitor standardization. I completed the project under budget with all objectives met.