By Cathie Ericson

“I always encourage the members of my team to escalate solutions, not just problems,” says Jackie Berryman, Director, TIAA. She has tried to instill a proactive, solution-oriented mindset in the members of her team. In reflecting on her career so far, Berryman identifies this can-do approach as having enabled her to tackle complex challenges that others may have shied away from.

A Varied Career Provides Constant Opportunity

After studying communications and journalism at Northeastern University, Berryman joined Credit Suisse in the Fixed Income division, first on the call center desk and then as an internal account executive, transitioning from answering questions to selling products. After earning her master’s in corporate communications, she decided it was time to segue out of sales and into a role aligned with her desired career path.

Berryman worked for the Department of Education (DOE) in the division of family and community engagement, which fosters student achievement by strengthening partnerships between families and educators. In her role, she oversaw the communications efforts to more than 860,000+ families, which included communication of all translation and interpretation services for the Department. “It was life changing to travel all over the city and work with different demographics,” she says. She remained there for nearly four years before she joined TIAA.

Measuring Her Success

Joining TIAA, a firm whose roots were in education and helping others, felt like a natural progression from the DOE. As Director of Communications and Human Capital Programs for IT, Berryman oversees internal and external communications for the department. Additionally, she runs strategic professional development programs for employees and entry-level rotational program, known as the Technical Associate (TA) Program, for recent graduates and interns.

While success in communications can be challenging to measure, one of Berryman’s metrics which really shows her contribution to the company’s evolution is a recent technology innovation award. TIAA was in the bottom 250 in the prestigious Information Week awards, but bumped up to 136 when she came on board. They subsequently vaulted to No. 21, and this year were named to the Top 10 overall and No. 3 for business and finance.

Through her work with the TA Program, Berryman is spearheading the efforts to bring in a diverse set of top talent at the entry-level. Berryman is particularly delighted that the TA Program continues to increase its female and minority representation, which bodes well for the IT pipeline. “This is a great industry with tons of opportunity and innovation happening across the industry,” she says. “Women are making a wise choice when they pursue a career in technology.”

Building a Strong Network from the Start

“When women begin their careers, they should realize that it’s important to build a strong network right from the start, focusing not just on mentors, but also the peers with whom you will align yourself as you move up,” says Berryman.

She has seen this firsthand many times, but one recent experience stands out. After participating in an emerging leaders program, she leveraged the relationships she built and now can call on them to act as speakers for the IT town halls she coordinates. “Having relationships throughout the firm is incredibly valuable to your career,” she says. Expanding on this point, Berryman excitedly shared she accepted a new role with a former manager at TIAA and will begin later this month.

The Importance of Life-long Learning

Berryman focuses on helping those around her develop their professional skills. “It’s imperative to be a lifelong learner about technology and the business,” she says.

While some learning is done in books and classrooms, Berryman figured out that some valuable lessons are learned the hard way. “Pick up the phone when you find yourself going back and forth with someone via email. Sending an aggressive/confrontational email when you’re frustrated isn’t worth it” she says, adding that she learned when a careless missive escalated. “Once it’s sent, it can be misinterpreted and you can never take it back. It’s so much easier to pick up the phone in that type of situation,” she says, drawing on the Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

In trying to foster conscious inclusion, Berryman co-founded the IT Women’s Council and has been a lead of the IT Diversity and Inclusion Council since she arrived. Under her leadership, the councils have worked to increase conscious inclusion and increase representation and sponsorship across the IT organization. They have done this by launching a successful Group Mentoring Program, holding popular D&I training for IT employees, as well as co-hosting external panels to discuss these pressing topics.

With a new six-month-old son Alexander, Berryman doesn’t have much spare time, but she loves to ski, read, travel and visit the beach.

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