Sunshine Elliott
Getting teams to work well together means understanding people. Some leaders use instincts, others science – Sunshine uses both. A student of Boasian anthropology, Sunshine employs both the Boasian "Four Field Approach" as well as her fine-tuned instincts to get at the heart of what needs to be done so a team can get moving at the proper collaborative clip.
Of course it was an interest in people, cultures and history that attracted Sunshine to anthropology at Santa Clara University (and later led her to solving the hairiest of business problems). But solving business problems is also about process, which is why Sunshine has both Six Sigma and Lean methodology training. In the midst of global economical chaos, she used it all to help WaMu smoothly integrate business systems and transition to JPMorgan Chase.
Project management has become second nature as Sunshine has time and again led teams through piles of multicolored notes, analytics and development in their search for brass tacks and critical path solutions. But that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to have fun. Whether admiring the architecture of Portland neighborhoods or taking a nine-day drive with her husband to a yurt in Big Sur, Sunshine is always trying to expand her horizons.
