Harriet Whaley

Hello! I am an experienced assessment specialist, project manager, and trainer with over 25 years' experience. I am a guest lecturer at UCSB and have consulted at numerous corporations on the effective use of digital media in public speaking. You can find me every Memorial Day weekend, having a whale of a time at the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, where I am a proud sponsor and volunteer, serving as Vice President of Programming on the Children’s Creative Project’s Executive Board.

I make my home on the Mesa in Santa Barbara, California with my husband of 31 years and our dog Pearl.

Project Management

Responsible for identifying, configurating, pricing and marketing the hardware and software configuration in 1,200 Computer Rental Centers worldwide. Enhanced sales opportunities, which led to 300% growth over 3 years (to $45 million annually).

Led several multidisciplinary teams responsible for numerous project and product launches, including:

• Video conferencing centers in 150 locations

• Enterprise-wide software migrations

• Corporate Operations Manual

• Backup and restore computer software

Negotiated software site licenses with: Microsoft, Adobe, Quark, IBM, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Tektronix, Symantec, Norton, and Intel.

Assessment and Training

Over 10 years’ experience with Santa Barbara Unified School District as Assessment and Accountability Specialist. Responsible for multiple high-stakes federal- and state-mandated assessments at 21 locations. Deliver trainings at each site on secure test administration procedures, scoring, computer skills, and meeting federal and state compliance guidelines.

Responsible for training examiners to administer SBAC achievement tests to 15,000 students, ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessments of California) to 3,600 students, and physical fitness testing to 2,000 students. Oversee testing of 600 students annually for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) identification.

Manage survey data collection and reporting on school climate, student health, and parent perceptions.

Conduct trainings on identifying, teaching, parenting, and supporting the social and emotional needs of gifted learners.

Maintain and train school leaders on dashboard of documents required for compliance, monitoring, and eligibility of federal Title 1 and Title 2 funds.

Developed numerous trainings for teacher, administrators, managers, sales reps, front-line co-workers, partners, and clients in test administration, computer-based skills, store operations, and new products and services via instructor-led classes and written documentation. 

Presentation Design

The following 5 tips for delivering effective presentations were culled from over 25 years' experience.

1. Use pictures and video to enhance slides.

Audiences are drawn to slides with creative pictures or videos, rather than a lot of words.

2. Be yourself, without drastic changes

Face the audience and be yourself, at your best, without drastic changes. Use a laptop, tablet or smart phone as a teleprompter. Speak to your audience, not your slides.

3. Don't fail the heart attack test!

If you collapsed mid presentation (Heaven forbid!) and your slides advanced automatically, would your audience notice that you weren’t there? Don’t put everything on your slides. Slides should support you, not replace you.

4. The Rule of 7.

If you must use text-only slides, use no more than 7 bullets per slide and 7 words per bullet. Keep your design loose. Avoid complete sentences. Drop modifiers and use action verbs.

5. Be prepared, control what you can, and use your tools

• Never use a font < 20 pts on screen or < 10 pts in print.

• Avoid booking your talk during the "graveyard shift," after lunch, late in the day, when people get sleepy.

• No more than one slide per minute. Actual presentations take 25% longer than timed practices.

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.

~ Mark Twain