Wow! Has it been more than I have imagined. I would like to give my sincere appreciation to SDA for granting me a PPC Scholarship as a first-time attendee to attend EDSymposium23, and SDA Seattle Chapter for their inclusion and continued support.

Contract Administration workshop was such a livening session for me. Clauses that I have learned from my contract manager to look out for such as indemnity and uninsurable languages were knowledge reinforced. When I saw “to the extent” in indemnity clause, lightbulb went off my head. This is a clause that my contract manager pays particular attention in client-provided agreements, as he explains, per comparative liability in accordance with ORS 30.140. Yes, it needs to be “to the extent they arise out of”, not “arising out of or resulting”. Indeed, didn’t I raise my hand high and asked questions. Shy Eunoh in the past would have struggled to ask questions. Applying Path2Success, I command myself to be vulnerable. Choose courage over comfort as so beautifully crafted bookmark Path2Success team had put together, because of vulnerability, I am writing this very essay right now.

As Jennifer Stutts from the Marketing Edition pointed out and reiterated by Vincent Lafitte during the roundtable discussion, ‘Pick one thing and do it well’ will resonate with me when I am pulling my hair, inundated by multiple requests all at once. Think about this. If you are the recipient of the services, you’d want them to give their undivided attention, and your clients will keep coming back to you for your best work.

From Emily Meyer’s Leading from the Second Chair and Leveraging Your Influence, with my keen eyes to catch incorrect total contract fees and the job numbers, I am asking project managers to take a look at their projects again, hence falling under the Integrator category. I hear from project managers, “Oh, what did I miss?” I point them to the direction of, “Your previous add-serve indicates this. I am not sure where this comes from. I believe it should be…” “Thanks for catching that. Please fix as you addressed.” Yep, the voice of reality, the voice that project managers may not want to hear but is necessary because I try my best to get correct contracts issued out of house.

Let me dwell on what is SDA’s purpose to have PPC scholarships. What would they like to see happen for recipients? What’s in it for them?

Simply saying how inspiring the testimonials of FSDAs of how they started their careers and worked their way up to where they are now would be another cliché. It’s time to return the favor.

Just do it.

I will start.

I will do a knowledge sharing with my firm which intimidates me; nevertheless, Michael Davis from WGI expressed that one should be nervous to do the right thing. As Anne McNeely’s poignant President’s Acceptance Speech left me with the question of what’s your horizon, I will “go as far as you can see, and then you will be able to see further” and the journey of my horizon has begun.

ExCom 2023-24: Jessica Berlier, CDFA, Secretary

Jessica Berlier, CDFA was elected and installed to serve as SDA National Secretary at the 2023 SDA Annual Business Meeting. Berlier, who previously held the Membership Committee Liason, is a Member-at-Large of SDA.

“I will continue finding new ways to grow and sharing that experience with others. I hope that my service to this organization will inspire others to reach for leadership roles,” Berlier said. “The experience can be more than career changing – in my case, it was also life changing.”  Berlier is the Project Coordinator for Gensler in Los Angeles, California.