Teaching Strategies Employee Spotlight: Camiley, Senior Manager, Platform & Approvals

Camiley has always worked in education. She’s taught children and adults of all ages all over the U.S. She says she has always been curious about people and attracted to learning. She loves trying to understand what motivates people and how to tap into that, how to really build a connection and start the mutual work of learning from one another.

When asked what attracted her to Teaching Strategies, Camiley said that our work inspires her on a very deep level. With such a large reach, Teaching Strategies impacts a wide range of children and families. She says that aligns with her personal philosophy: to “empower people to be the architects of their own future.”

She says, “I want someone to bring their own knowledge into the partnership and expand it to integrate new ideas and create something even bigger. We’re here to build community, side-by-side.”

In her role as Senior Manager, Platform and Approvals, Camiley balances managing both our Quorum platform and our state approvals department. She works with our platform vendor to improve the user experience on Quorum for our asynchronous on-demand courses and our live virtual classes. She also works closely with our online Instructional Design Development team to get our courses launched on the platform and then make sure our educators nationally (and internationally) get credit for taking our courses. Additionally, she fosters state partner relationships across the country to build API connections so that when an educator takes a course with us, their attendance and completion data are sent automatically to their state agency.

Her small state approval team has made much headway with states, researching and submitting proposals so that our courses are approved for state credit and IACET authorization. They also share that information with the internal Teaching Strategies teams so that everyone is aware of all our approvals nationally. Most recently, she has worked with others in research and government relations teams to tackle accreditation and approval for our Early Literacy Certification program.

Recently, we asked Camiley to share her thoughts on work and life at Teaching Strategies.

How do you feel leadership at Teaching Strategies supports you and the overall organization?

I love the freedom to try new things. I love that I am not micromanaged, but I’m given necessary tools to move forward with important projects that will further both my own professional goals and larger objectives for the organization. I feel like I know what I need to do to succeed, and I’m encouraged by leadership to move toward it. Constructive criticism is welcomed with kindness, and, in my experience, this is the best way to continue to improve and grow.

What opportunities for professional growth and development have you found most beneficial at Teaching Strategies?

I value the accessibility of the Senior and Executive Leadership Team members. Having meetings and conversations with them enables my growth as I observe their approach, the questions they ask, and the knowledge they bring. Teaching Strategies is the first corporate environment I have worked in, and it’s been a learning curve for me at times. I learn a lot from the transparency and openness of mentors like our CEO, John Olsen, and our President of Product, Celia Stokes, whom I have found to be approachable and candid, even during difficult conversations. Learning from other leaders and colleagues is always a remarkable thing, and it helps me to integrate lessons learned and ask insightful questions of myself and the organization.

How do you approach leadership and mentorship within your team?

I try to be a good example. We’re all just humans, trying to do the best we can with what we got—I take it back to that level. I approach my team in that same way that I would approach my students, my kids, or anyone else who I am trying to build with. What do you have? How can I encourage that strength? What should we work on? What questions can I ask that will inspire you? When you’re not performing, how do I work with you on those shortcomings without tearing you down? I know we’re in this together, so I always want that to be forefront in our interactions.

How does Teaching Strategies celebrate your success and milestones?

I feel very seen by my team and my immediate leadership. On Slack (our internal messaging tool), we are quick to celebrate each other and compliment wins, good conversations, great presentations, contributions, etc. I love that positive energy. It really makes me feel like we are all a part of this greater effort to improve—to improve us, improve the organization, improve educators’ access to world-class education, and improve the lives of children and their families.