A Career of Insight

After decades of leading laboratories—both in environmental chemistry and in the wine industry—Lisa Parks had mastered analysis of complex data and guiding diverse teams. But the missing piece was a mastery of communicating that data is not only informative, but actionable in leading smart business decisions.

Lisa’s work was deeply technical, rooted in scientific rigor and data analysis. But that gap in how the data was being used became strikingly apparent.

She recalls this inner monologue:

“There’s got to be a way to really serve my company,” she recalls, “by saying, ‘This is what your process is revealing. This is where we can save money. This is where we can make changes.’”

That insight sparked an interest in communication in not just writing, but the art of translating complexity into clarity.

The program’s emphasis on data visualization and visual communication aligned perfectly with my creative and analytical interests.

Discovering the Power of Technical Communication

Lisa’s entry into our technical communication certificate was organic. After taking our Business Communication: Writing and Speaking course, she found herself drawn deeper into the discipline.

“After successfully presenting two years of industry-specific collaborative testing data and achieving a consensus for revising a testing protocol, I realized the impact that effective communication can have,” Lisa says. “After completing that course, I explored the website and was drawn to the technical communication certificate.

“It was a melding of my artistic and technical background through analysis, visual communication and writing. I find it inspiring to turn complex ideas into clear, structured messages that can be communicated both verbally and visually. The program’s emphasis on data visualization and visual communication aligned perfectly with my creative and analytical interests.”

Our courses helped refine skills that Lisa already possessed, while introducing new frameworks for reaching the audience with clarity and impact. “You still have to talk to people,” she adds. “You still have to organize your thoughts and present them in a coherent and concise way.”

Straight from her online classes, Lisa immediately applied lessons learned to her lab director role. In fact, she tells me, one of her most impactful projects involved analyzing years of underutilized data.

“I used five years’ worth of data and turned that into a 300-percent reduction in costs per year,” she shares. “I presented documentation and recommendations with data metrics and visuals to the stakeholders. ‘This is meaningful. This is not meaningful. This is what we’re seeing over this period.’”

In addition, right before leaving the wine industry, Lisa employed her new skills to wrap up a decade-long project, in which she “collected thousands of data points and created a final capstone report and presentation for executive leadership,” Lisa describes. “In the report, I applied principles of data visualization and information architecture to distill a broad and complex dataset, offering a summary of the current state and recommendations for next steps.”

Through clear communication and thoughtful visualization, she helped decision-makers cut through noise and focus on what truly mattered.

“I think what we deal with in a data-generous society is people don’t know how to really look at the data,” she explains. “Their response is to get more data. I was able to simplify that and show them the real picture.”

AI can organize information, but you still have to know how to present yourself. You still have to talk with someone in a coherent way.

Finishing Strong

For Lisa, earning the certificate wasn’t about climbing a new career ladder.

“I was able to successfully culminate a career and communicate my work to executive management,” she says. “As an older student and worker, the curriculum infused further stimulus to continue along a new path of lifelong learning.

“I’m a forever learner,” she continues. “I love the whole concept of not getting dull.”

For those considering our technical communication certificate, Lisa offers practical and honest advice.

“Be consistent. Work on it daily, because it’s a lot of work,” she says.

Rushing through assignments, she warns, diminishes the value of the experience. “You can do it, but you won’t do it well. And if you don’t do it well, you’re not getting what you should get out of the program.”

She also emphasizes the importance of engaging with instructors. “Take advantage of the Zoom calls. That is your human interaction with your instructor,” she says. “That’s a gift of time.”

And in an age increasingly shaped by AI, she underscores the enduring importance of human communication. “AI can organize information, but you still have to know how to present yourself,” she explains. “You still have to talk with someone in a coherent way.”

Her advice is balanced and pragmatic: “Learn where you can use AI and also learn where you can’t.”

And as Lisa looks toward her next step, she knows technical communication will be key in all future endeavors. “This program really enriched my life and will continue to. Whether I’m a consultant or just working on my own projects, I’ll keep flexing these skills.”