Experience / Project case study
From Staff Needs to Working Systems
I loved contributing to an organization whose work makes a difference in so many people’s lives. My role brought together consulting, engineering design, and data analysis to help staff spend less time on administrative work.
Brief & My Role
As an Agency Initiatives & Engineering Intern, I identified staff needs, proposed improvements, and built operational systems through stakeholder feedback.
Understand, Propose, and Build Together
I spent my first weeks interviewing 14 department directors, asking questions about their work and identifying where processes broke down. I then pitched solutions to stakeholders, discussed which direction to take, and translated those conversations into operational processes and data-collection tools.
Consulting, Followed by Engineering
The work started with questions: What was taking too long? What information was missing? What did each team need to make a decision? I presented recommendations to stakeholders and used their feedback to shape each project.
I then analyzed historical data, cleaned inconsistent records, and established structured collection methods so departments could use past information and maintain better data going forward.
I followed the engineering design process: define the problem, develop a solution, build a first version, test it with users, and revise it until it met the need. Documentation and continued feedback made the handoff practical.
Automation & Reporting Results
I cut week-long admissions and outreach processes to minutes by building and iterating Power Automate workflows with AI tools. I also built Power BI dashboards with Power Query to track departmental expenses and fundraising revenue supporting $5M+ annually across four departments.
Broader Project Scope
My engineering problem-solving work also spanned assistive technology, sensory spaces, transportation communication workflows, clinical services, and development operations. Across these areas, the goal is to create practical improvements for staff, clients, caregivers, and families.
01
Incoming Fund Tracker
Built an Excel reporting system that connected donation entry, reconciliation, and financial dashboards in one reusable workflow.
The problem: Staff needed a consistent way to track incoming funds across payment sources, reconcile deposits and processing fees, and review giving by campaign, purpose, and fund code.
My solution: I connected standardized entry logs to formula-driven dashboards and batch summaries. Dropdown validation, missing-field flags, fee checks, and protected formulas helped keep inputs consistent and surface issues before reporting.
The workflow: Staff enter gifts, review flagged entries and deposit batches, then select a reporting month to see updated summaries. I wrote a practical SOP so the team could maintain the system and repeat the process throughout the fiscal year.
Excel formulas · Data validation · Dashboard design · Financial reporting
02
Volunteer Tracker
Centralized volunteer inquiries and Days of Caring activity in two connected logs by building an Excel tracker with follow-up dates, engagement reporting, and quality checks.
The workbook tracks response status, recurring commitments, volunteer hours, and estimated in-kind value. Editable settings and a written guide help staff maintain it.
Excel · Workflow design · Conditional formatting · Documentation
03
Adult & School Admissions
Brought two admissions pathways into one workbook by building separate adult and student logs with timeline calculations, deadline flags, analytics, and name search.
Staff can track referrals through decisions and start dates, review missing information, and find records across admissions and Social Security request logs.
Excel · SharePoint · Process mapping · Data validation
04
Client Records & Therap
Standardized records for 1,000+ clients and supported intake workflows for 200+ staff by cleaning historical information and organizing client data.
Work included medical, demographic, and care information. A focused Therap update involved approximately 250 clients and 5,000 data points. Client records are not displayed here.
Python · Excel · Data cleaning · Record standardization
05
Outreach Event Tracker & Dashboard
Created a central view of outreach activity for FY2027 by building an event tracker and reporting dashboard.
Organized event information into a reusable reporting tool for outreach work.
Excel · Data organization · Dashboard design
06
Staff Guides & Continued Support
Supported handoff across 14 department directors by writing step-by-step guides and revising tools in response to staff feedback.
Documentation explains data-entry rules, editable settings, dashboard use, quality checks, and maintenance responsibilities.
Technical writing · Stakeholder interviews · Training · Iteration
I continue working part time during the semester, troubleshooting existing tools, adding features, iterating on previous designs, and building dashboards for departments.
Additional tools, pilots & proposals
07
County Lookup
Built a reusable address-to-county lookup to support location-based record updates by connecting address information with county identification.
The tool addressed a recurring data-enrichment task within the agency’s record workflows.
Data lookup · Data preparation · Workflow design
08
HR Town Hall Registration
Prepared registration and attendance tracking across six planned town hall sessions by building a roster, session summaries, and a Microsoft 365 automation setup guide.
The design covers roster updates, QR check-in, cancellations, and attendance reporting. Prepared as a workflow pilot.
Excel · Microsoft Bookings · Microsoft Forms · Power Automate workflow planning
09
Class Sorting Pilot
Developed a class-sorting pilot to explore a more consistent way to organize assignments by translating instructional-design needs into an initial sorting workflow.
Initial pilot for reviewing class assignment workflows.
Requirements gathering · Prototyping · Workflow design
10
Assistive Technology Library Proposal
Prepared an assistive technology library proposal by organizing a resource concept around access to tools that support clients and staff.
A proposal focused on making assistive technology resources easier to organize and access.
Assistive technology research · Requirements analysis · Proposal development
What I Learned
This experience taught me to gather requirements, explain tradeoffs, turn feedback into design changes, and build systems that staff could maintain.
Tools used across the internship include Excel, SharePoint, Power Query, Power Automate, Python, Microsoft Forms, and AI-assisted development. Each project lists its relevant methods above.
Contact me about this work