At Novasyte, we are proud to foster a culture of inclusivity. For February, we recognize and honor Black History Month. First celebrated in 1925 to recognize the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, the celebration was expanded to a month in 1976 as encouraged by President Gerald Ford. He urged Americans to, “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Throughout the month, Novasyte has celebrated by coming together as a team for a diversity potluck as well as sharing a playlist from Spotify. (*Disclaimer: some songs have explicit language; Novasyte does not endorse this playlist but we think it is another fun way to feel connected to the month.) 

Before the month is over, we want to highlight a key member of our Novafamily; a successful, inspirational, female leader who is an essential member of our team - our Director of Payroll & Expense, Theresa Reed.

Learn more about Theresa below. 

Exploring the World

With the military ingrained in much of her life, Theresa traveled all over the world for many years. Like so many, this meant she would work jobs but mentions her time spent, “was so short I didn’t count them.” Finally, after 22 years in the military, Theresa’s husband of 24 years retired. That brought Theresa to one of her biggest accomplishments - staying in one place. “Because we didn’t move, I got to land somewhere, own and grow my career.” 

Establishing Her Career

During her previous career, Theresa honed her skills in managing and supervising employees. She learned how to recognize other learning styles and how to accommodate each team member. “That’s [when I discovered] people learn at different rates/times/speeds. They will gather the same information, but process it differently.”

Once she had a team under her, Theresa took her next step. “I started to write procedures. I knew I needed to have [the team] work together on the same page, in the same book.” She helped grow her department and team to the point where she could go back to focusing on her career path and thirst for knowledge.

Around that time, Theresa knew it was time for a change. She spent her years at her previous company teaching, traveling, training and learning about payroll. “I learned a lot,” Theresa mentions. “At some point, I needed to see what someone else was doing in the same space. I didn’t know it was Novasyte, but it was something.”

Flourishing at Novasyte

As she looked forward to new ventures, Theresa joined the Novasyte team. Like many who have joined the team, Theresa points out the allure: “It has always been the culture; it’s the people.” As Novasyte's 16th employee, Theresa used her eagerness and passion for learning to support her success in this new role. After six to eight months, our Senior Leadership Team noticed her natural ability to lead and she was promoted to manager of the Payroll & Expense department.

She recalls one of her greatest accomplishments at Novasyte: “I took my knowledge and experience and applied it to a growing company where I can do my best work." Over the last five years, she spent her time working on the necessary procedures and processes for the department, while hiring, training and building a team. In addition to those accomplishments, Theresa ensures Novasyte is compliant in all 50 states and also Canada.

As a hands-on, working manager, Theresa loves to look for efficiencies. One of the areas she focused on was to expand and create more definition to her team. Now, Theresa has built a full-functioning department that consists of a Travel and Expense team and a Payroll team. Her approach to working with the team comes from another lesson she learned from her past experience: “Whatever we do, it is a team effort. There is no me without us.”

Outside of work, Theresa describes herself as patriotic and shares her passion for helping to serve her community. We are grateful to have Theresa as a part of our Novafamily and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next. From everyone here at Novasyte, thank you for everything, Theresa.

Interested in joining our team? Take a look at our available positions and apply today.