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D A I R Y.
D A T A.
D R I V E.
D A I R Y.
D A T A.
D R I V E.
Growing up in the Twin Cities, many miles away from farming and food production more often than not results in "Food comes from the store" and "Chocolate milk comes from the brown cow" and as a child, my responses were not far off. From my first exposure to the Food & Agriculture industry I had a desire to expand consumer education and give all consumers the opportunity to learn where there food comes from, from the very people who produce it.
It starts with the hard working business men and women that are our US dairy producers. Learning from them how they have grown to provide more with less through sustainability and efficiency to enhance profitability. Providing them resources and education on markets, risk management tools and emerging sustainability trends to set them up for future success. Including them in the conversations about sustainability to work towards a solution where sustainability goals and profitability growth can happen together to meet consumer demands.
From the farm, fluid milk is transformed into value added products to meet consumer demands. This requires innovation in technology at the manufacturing level to address ever changing consumer demand, which requires flexibility amongst the 24-7-365, high volume, perishable nature of the US dairy industry. All of which requires margin enhancement in a commodity centric industry to drive dollars to the bottom line for future investment, to be agile against volatile markets and changing consumer demands.
Bringing us to the importance of market knowledge and risk management throughout the supply chain. To understand the pricing mechanisms employed in the US, how they drive risk in the supply chain and how they impact he decisions and strategic direction of milk processors.
Leveraging data to connect the story of the US dairy producer to the ever-changing diverse global consumer base to deliver a nutritious safe and sustainable product.
Similar to starting with the producer to learn about where food comes from, starting at the ground level to model scenarios for decision making is key. My creative data process begins with the subject matter experts - the producers, the line operators in the plant, the milk hauler behind the wheel. Without their insights, the numbers are just numbers - with no context or story behind them.
Next, I'll admit for the majority of people is the boring or daunting part - the modeling and analytics. For a nerd like me, it's the calming part. It's the part that gives me the opportunity to prove or disprove if "this is the way we have always done it" is the best way to continue. It's a way of pairing historical success with future market opportunities or new advanced technology to turn something good into something great.
In today's world there is no shortage of data, but yet there is a shortage of data-driven decision making. I believe that is due in part to a lack of storytelling. In the board room, data is boring - so I challenge myself and those around me to 'get to the point'. The hours of data scrubbing, modeling, scenario management and more may get boiled down to a 10-minute, 5-slide presentation, but if it's done right, the right decision will be made.
Drive to learn, do and grow - while letting go of the fear of failure along the way. In life, I strive to work towards being a better version of me, wherever that is needed at the time. A better partner. A better big sister. A better employee. A better friend. A better risk taker. A better Sammi.
This requires a balance of meeting yourself where you are at, and holding yourself accountable towards goals in all aspects of life. Just like making a goal to lose 20 pounds in a week is not realistic, making a goal to model the long-short position of milk supply given a variety of new manufacturing constraints on day one of the job is not achievable. However, after a month or two if there is still no progress - there may be a lack of drive to actually achieve a solution.
'Driven' is typically defined as someone determined to succeed - or highly energetic and motivated. For me, to be driven requires passion. It requires curiosity to explore and learn something new. Sometimes, it requires the work ethic to finish something you don't want to for the success of a larger goal. And it requires you to leave some drive left for the hours outside of 8:00am - 5:00pm for personal learnings, exploration and growth.
Whether you call it Work-Life Balance or Work-Life Integration or something else ... I just call it Life, and I want to live this life as the best version of myself. Which requires drive and determination towards goals inside and outside of the office - and yes, there are still only 24 hours in a day, even in 2022.
G E T T O K N O W S A M M I
I AM,
Family Oriented
Explorer
Introverted Leader
Health & Wellness Advocate
I DO,
Data Analytics
Dairy
Risk Management
Young Talent Management
And I use my top strengths of Achiever, Futuristic, Learner, Relator, Maximizer and Analytical to connect Who I Am with What I Do to determine what I WANT out of life,
I want to connect consumers to the health & wellness benefits of dairy
I want to explore new ways to use data in connecting the farm to table supply chain and identifying market risk throughout.
I want to lead with Inclusion & Diversity to inspire future generations of dairy experts.
I want to understand balance in life so I can bring my best self to work, to relationships and to myself to accelerate future growth.
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