Rebecca is a business researcher and leads specialist with Outlook Business Solutions, living in Winter Haven, Fla.
She is a certified sourcing and recruiting specialist and has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida. Rebecca also earned her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Social Science.
Prior to receiving her certification from the Sourcing Institute’s Diploma program in 2019, Rebecca spent three years as a contractor with Rainking Solutions, now known as DiscoverOrg, and Project Starfish. Using LinkedIn and other sources, she maintained data lists and contacted nonprofit organizations, social enterprises and other customers as needed. Rebecca became the lead researcher for Project Starfish in 2015 because of her dedication to her work and to helping others. Interacting with passionate entrepreneurs was the best part about the job, according to Rebecca.
In her role as an assistive technology specialist at the University of Dayton, Rebecca enjoyed demonstrating various assistive technology tools to students and staff and conducting research on the best techniques for producing accessible graphical materials for students studying STEM topics.
Rebecca has a passion for empowering others by providing just-in-time information. This information might give a consumer an answer to questions about government programs, allow someone to access materials in an alternate format or set a company up with relevant business leads to achieve growth.
One of the most memorable experiences of Rebecca’s diverse career was working with Professor Karshmer and his team on the MathGenie Project, a software program that allowed blind students to read math equations created in MathML. She demonstrated how blind students could navigate complex equations with a computer keyboard and later tested the program as team developers incorporated braille support into the software. Rebecca demonstrated the program for Cool Blind Tech.
As a child, Rebecca became curious about driving because retinopathy of prematurity, which happens at birth, prevented her from getting behind the wheel. In high school, her mother took her out to an empty field and showed her how to drive. This was one of the highlights of her childhood and something she will never forget.
Rebecca is involved with her local disability caucus and enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, watching Star Trek and spending time with family.