Open to consulting, contract, part-time & full-time Remote · Hybrid · Onsite

Hi — I'm Karisa. I aim to make everyone's job easier.

Chief of Staff · Project & Program Leadership · Operations

Twenty years of project and program leadership, chief of staff work, and operations — most of it spent making sure the people around me could do their best work. I care most about watching people succeed, and just as much about making the work itself run better. The feedback I hear most often is that I stay steady when things get loud — and that I’m good company while we sort it out.

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A true advocate for her teams and clients, with a talent for making everyone feel important and appreciated — and she’s a lot of fun to work with, too.

Mary Schneider, Talent Acquisition Leader

The tool is the easy part. Seeing where it will pay off, and knowing how to get it there — that's the job.

At my last job, the thing people asked me most wasn't about budgets or timelines. It was some version of "can you teach me how you use AI?" And my honest answer is: yes, and it won't take long. The tools themselves were never the hard part.

What took twenty years is the judgment around them — looking at how a team actually works and seeing where the opportunities are. Which steps are worth automating, which ones genuinely need a person, and where one small change quietly gives everybody back a few hours a week.

What I do

How I help

Three roles I step into, depending on what a team needs most.

Project & Program Management

Delivery, end to end

Leading multi-workstream projects and programs from scoping through launch — governance frameworks, estimation, resourcing, budget tracking, and the cross-functional coordination that keeps everything moving.

TimelinesProgram ManagementResource ManagementReportingProject Management ToolsPeople ManagementPMO GovernanceScoping & EstimationBudget ManagementAgile / Waterfall

Chief of Staff

Support for the executive

Extending an executive's capacity — preparing them for the room, tracking the decisions and follow-through, owning the initiatives that fall between teams, and keeping communication moving in both directions.

ReportingDeck DevelopmentProcess DevelopmentExecutive BriefingsDecision TrackingCross-Functional AlignmentBoard ReportingStrategic PlanningStakeholder Comms

AI & Automation

Practical AI for operations

Finding where AI genuinely saves a team time, then building it — financial models, reporting, production workflows — and documenting it so the team can run and extend it themselves.

Claude DesignClaude CodeChatGPTGenSpark AIWorkflow Automation

Skills

What I bring to the table

Leadership & strategy

PMO Leadership & GovernanceStrategic Program Management Executive Support & AdvisoryCross-Functional Team Leadership Talent Development & MentorshipStakeholder Engagement

Delivery & operations

Agile / Waterfall / ScrumProcess Design & Optimization Scoping & EstimationResource & Capacity Planning SOW & Contract ManagementClient Relationship ManagementNew Business Development

Financial

Financial Management & ForecastingBudget Optimization Financial Modeling

AI & tools

Claude DesignClaude CodeChatGPTGenSpark AI Workflow AutomationTeamwork *SmartsheetJIRAConfluenceTrello Slack (Admin)MS TeamsFigmaAEMGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft Office

* Member of Teamwork's Customer Advisory Board

Education & certification

Certified Scrum Master (CSM) B.S. Computer Information Systems / Business Management — Westfield State University

Past clients

Brands I've delivered for

Ford Motor Company

Microsoft

Sony

Sony Pictures

Honda & Acura

Mass Mutual

Activision

VIZIO

Monster Energy

Accenture

CAA

ING

Major League Gaming

Minnesota Life

The James Cancer Hospital

WE Network

Oxy Petroleum

Rovi

Genex

MRM / McCann

Delivered through Mavice, Rosetta / Level Studios, MRM / McCann, Genex and The Glue

Testimonials

What people say

I have always been impressed with the level of detail that she is able to balance on highly complex programs, across multiple product lines, and for simultaneous clients.

Lindsey Scopel — Sales Director

Karisa is great at her job but goes well past that in that she strives to see what each team member is up against. I have worked with a lot of Project Managers and Karisa is as talented as they come.

Harvey Lewis — Senior Consultant, Ernst-Van Praag

Karisa is that rare intersection of skill and personality — adept and affable, precise and easy going. Well liked and highly respected.

Justin Gourley — VP, Data Engineering, Meta

She is efficient, tactful, and drives quality with every deliverable. She is at home with both Engineers as well as Creatives, and is able to not only manage but also contribute to both sides of a conversation.

Mark V. Nguyen — Founder & Fractional CTO

Karisa represents the rare combination of exceptional visionary thinking and complete comprehension and awareness of all the moving parts.

Rachel Robbins — Design Strategy Leader

Excerpted from LinkedIn recommendations

Currently taking on new work

Get in touch.

I'm available for consulting, contract, and part-time engagements, and open to full-time for the right role. Remote, hybrid, or onsite — I'm in El Segundo and work with teams anywhere. Email or call and I'll get back to you quickly.

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