A career of building companies. A life of empowering others.

For two decades I was enmeshed in the work of company-building.

I ran hard, leading operations, strategy, and customer-facing revenue teams at six successful startups in sectors including cleantech, data, HR tech, and law. 

But along the way, I began to question my own purpose, my own path. 

I noticed how colleagues routinely sought my advice and counsel, how I had an uncanny ability to surface what gets in people’s way and then help them get unstuck. 

In hindsight, this made sense. Raised in the Quaker tradition, I’ve felt called since childhood to give back to others. I’ve never wanted to be at the front of a room; I’m at my strongest when I’m working to unlock the potential of those around me. I thrived as chief of staff and in customer-facing leadership roles, paving the way for others to perform at their highest level.

In 2023, I left my last full-time leadership role in order to explore how I might have greater impact. I decided to embrace my natural advising abilities and within a few months, had a slate of clients.

In 2024, I decided to pursue rigorous coach training in order to further hone coaching work that I had gradually been taking on for people in my professional community. I’m proud to be working towards a professional coaching certification with the Hudson Institute, with the goal of securing ICF certification in early 2025.

Alongside this direct client work, I serve as an advisor and coach with 500 Startups’ Global Flagship Accelerator, and as a coach and mentor with First Round Capital’s Fast Track program. 

Career highlights

  • Served as Periscope Data’s first Chief of Staff and played a key role in the Sisense acquisition

  • Grew BrightHire from seed to Series B as the company's Head of Client Strategy and Operations

  • Helped lead Opower’s West Coast Customer Success team and learned the power of behavioral science

  • Launched a business line for mid-market tech execs at the Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner)

  • Authored a report for the World Bank on the economic impact of technology incubation

  • Designed my last three full-time jobs from scratch, pairing my unique skills with the companies’ needs

  • Analyzed cross-border innovation and investment best practices in Mexico as a Fulbright Scholar

  • Erin has an outsized ability to connect the dots and drive consensus, and she is quick to grok both the product and commercial implications of a decision. As Chief of Staff at Periscope Data, Erin meaningfully extended our leadership team’s reach.

    - Harry Glaser, Co-Founder & CEO, Modelbit (prev. Periscope Data)

  • Erin built an exceptional customer success team from the ground up. She created the foundational structure and processes, hired A players, personally delivered for our customer partners, and helped us achieve client NPS scores well above industry benchmarks.

    - Benjamin Sesser, Co-Founder & CEO, BrightHire

  • Erin is an outstanding thought partner and operator. She has a great ability to think critically, process a wide variety of inputs, and deliver high-quality insights. She led some of Sisense’s most complex partnerships, critically advancing our entire company.

    - Guy Levy-Yurista, CEO, Synthace (prev. Sisense)

Education:

  • B.A. Smith College

  • M.S. Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, in global finance, commerce, and strategy

  • Fulbright Scholar, Mexico

If you’d prefer to send me an email, you can reach me at erinwm@gmail.com.