Towanna Alexander, LSSGB, MPA

1 Implementation leadership

Turning Complex Enterprise Commitments Into Executable Delivery

Role: Lead Implementation / Program ManagerScope: 10+ enterprise accounts across dry-side and cold chain

I inherited a complex enterprise implementation environment with many stakeholders, operational dependencies, customer expectations and regulatory requirements, and built the structure to move execution forward while protecting commitments.

• 98%on-time completion
• 10+enterprise accounts
• $11M+dry-side portfolio
• 15%faster cold-chain deployment (Lean/Agile)

The business problem

• Customer commitments at risk: accounts not engaged, competing priorities, unclear ownership on the customer side.
• Operational readiness: the right people not yet identified or aligned before go-live.
• Tight, often unrealistic timelines that could slip week by week without transparency.
• Regulatory requirements that needed dedicated, ongoing ownership.
• Senior stakeholders who wanted it done immediately, with little patience for the underlying complexity.

How I moved it forward

1. DiagnosedConfirmed what was actually sold versus assumed, mapped requirements with the technical team, and surfaced risks during discovery.
2. DesignedSet up governance, defined responsibilities, reporting and escalation paths.
3. MobilizedAligned Commercial, Operations, Legal, CX, Technology and customer stakeholders around one plan.
4. ExecutedManaged milestones and risks in real time and gave executives honest weekly status, including slippage.

Outcome

Delivered against a demanding portfolio while protecting the customer relationship through transparency. Cold chain and dry-side accounts were retained, with extended contracts, renewals or new lines of business.

2 Operating model transformation

Redesigning the Operating Model for a Multi-Site Cold Chain Program

Role: Implementation / Program LeadershipScope: 4 sites, 4 states, 45+ employees, FDA/DOT-regulated

The challenge was not simply launching a program. It was deciding how the program should operate once launched, and building the mechanisms to make performance visible, measurable and controllable.

• 25%faster launch
• +8%survey improvement
• 4 of 4sites aligned
• 87%audit readiness maintained

What I did

• Assessed the existing process at all four sites to see where consistency broke down.
• Redesigned the operating model and built a KPI framework so performance was measurable, not anecdotal.
• Set up risk and issue management and governance that gave leadership real-time visibility instead of after-the-fact reporting.
• Coached project managers across sites so the program ran the same way in every location.
• Kept FDA/DOT and client audit readiness in place throughout, showing that speed and compliance can coexist.

3 Process diagnosis & redesign

From “This Is How We’ve Always Done It” to a Scalable Operating Process

Role: Process Manager / Implementation LeadershipScope: Cold chain implementation process after a merger

A process is not accepted because it exists. It is judged on whether it produces the outcome it is supposed to produce.

1. Observe
2. Map
3. Diagnose
4. Redesign
5. Test
6. Measure
7. Standardize

• ~0damage-related chargebacks and claims

The problem

After the merger, there was no process continuity between sites, and leadership applied KPIs inconsistently.

What the redesign involved

• Rebuilt the KPIs so every site was measured the same way.
• Retrained leadership on the new standard and made personnel changes where needed.
• Aligned vendors and QA, and introduced incentives tied to the new standard.

Outcome

After the operation stabilized, damage-related chargebacks and claims fell to near zero, and the team saw fewer inbound touches and less burnout. The same method (observe, map, diagnose, redesign, test, measure, standardize) is repeatable, not a one-time fix.

4 Product training & adoption

Translating Product Complexity Into Human Behavior

Role: Product Trainer / Frontline EnablementScope: Internal care-coordination software across 5 cities and states

Take a complex, still-evolving product, learn how users actually work in it, turn technical concepts into usable workflows, and drive adoption in real time.

• 34% → 55%user adoption
• +13%data accuracy per user
• 5cities and states adopted

The business problem

The system was being built in real time while frontline teams tried to use it. It was not intuitive, it took too long, and it did not produce the data needed to help the patient, so staff avoided it.

What I did

• Partnered with Product to turn a generic text dump into an intuitive data-entry form.
• Worked with engineers on logic that turned user input into real-time, usable data.
• Trained frontline teams on every sprint update so they always learned the current workflow.
• Earned trust quickly across a wide group of new users in a startup culture built on iterating.

Outcome

Adoption climbed, per-user data accuracy improved by about 13%, and the training approach spread to five cities and states, turning a single-site fix into a repeatable enablement model.

5 User experience contribution

Designing From the User Backward

Role: UX Contributor / Product Feedback LoopScope: Commons EMR, internal care-coordination platform

The process an organization believes is happening is not always the process users experience, and closing that gap is what improves outcomes.

• 13%fewer incomplete records
• 43%higher audit pass rate over two quarters

What I did

• Spotted the pattern in QA results and audit failures and turned it into a specific user story.
• Gave Product an evidence-backed problem instead of a general complaint.
• Stayed close to real-world usage after the redesign shipped and kept surfacing feedback as the tool evolved.

Outcome

The redesigned interface captured more structured, clinically relevant information and gave the care team a more accurate patient picture. It contributed to the team’s broader 38% reduction in hospital readmissions during the same period, a team result rather than mine alone.

6 Escalation & recovery

Recovering a Multi-Million-Dollar Implementation Under Threat

Role: Implementation / Program LeadershipScope: Enterprise 3PL customer, multi-million-dollar contract at risk

Leaders are not hired to run projects that go well. They are hired to walk into “we have a problem” and work it out.

• Several $Mcontract value at risk
• ~92%of at-risk value preserved (my estimate)

The situation

The customer’s expectations did not match operational reality for two reasons: the customer had not disclosed its technology limits in time, and the internal team was unfamiliar with the requirements actually agreed. The risk was lost contract value, lost new business and a customer moving to another 3PL.

What I did

1. EscalateWent to leadership at once for the budget and resources to investigate, solution and map.
2. Work the problemRan cross-team working sessions and replaced open-ended meetings with daily touchbases.
3. Stay transparentKept the customer informed of progress and delays, even when the news was bad.
4. Re-baselineRebuilt the timeline from validated information, got formal customer sign-off, and set a rule that any new issue moves to a later phase or is called out as a timeline impact.

Outcome

The project was fully implemented, testing succeeded, and the customer was satisfied with both the results and the transparency throughout the recovery.