Employee Spotlight – Lauren Brophy

Interview conducted by: Nichole Buckley

Lauren started her journey at Vital Decisions in 2015.  Initially she worked in different roles within the Marketing department and currently is the Product Manager in the Product and Analytics Department. Lauren enjoys being creative, helping to design, implement, and integrate new products, features, and enhancements into Vital Decisions’ current portfolio which includes rolling out My Living Voice, Guided Living Voice, Living Well Summary, and video conferencing.

 What brought you to Vital Decisions?

I was looking for a change and wanted to be a part of an organization where I was helping people. I was intrigued by Vital Decisions’ mission and wanted to actively help vulnerable populations who might not be aware of the benefits of Advance Care Planning.

Tell me about the progression of your role at Vital Decisions

Before Vital Decisions, I worked for 10 years in online marketing for a financial services company. I gained a lot of experience in e-mail marketing and building products which led me to start out as Marketing Manager for My Living Voice at Vital Decisions. I then moved into general marketing for Vital Decisions before transitioning into the role of Product Manager in the Product and Analytics department.  In this role, I work on and lead cross-functional initiatives that enhance and extend Vital Decisions’ product and performance capabilities.

What are some the things that have made you successful in your role or in transitioning to this current role?

I have learned to roll with the tide and be flexible. In addition, I have learned to be open to different opportunities that may come up.  In the past, there have been different tasks I was asked to do and even though I may not have known how to do it, I was open to learning and trying it out.

What advice would you give to colleagues looking to progress at Vital Decisions?

I would say to advocate for yourself.  It is important to speak up and say what you want to do and what you’re looking for because otherwise no one will know.  I have found people here are super open to hearing about your professional goals, which is great.

What’s been your biggest accomplishment in your career? What do you hope to achieve in your career?

I feel the biggest sense of accomplishment when our members find value and are using and enjoying the product or gaining value from solutions I helped build.

What would be helpful for potential candidates to know about Vital Decisions or about your role?

It is an exciting time to be a Product Manager at Vital Decisions because we are always looking to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of the marketplace.  Be flexible, be ready for the unknown.  Things are always changing and arising, which keeps things exciting.  We have a lot of new ideas and products we would like to market to better help our members.  We are trying to evolve ahead of the marketplace so we can bring more value to our members.

Tracy Korman, SVP<br /> Product & Analytics

Lauren is a pleasure to work with as she is always willing to get deep into the details, she brings great planning and follow through to everything she does, and she always delivers both great thinking and execution. It has been a great pleasure to see Lauren grow in her role over the past two years. She has established herself as a product development and product management professional with a large and growing toolkit of skills and capabilities. Vital Decisions is a pure service organization and as such there are lots of owners and stakeholders to manage and support when developing products. Lauren is great at driving consensus, keeping everyone aligned, and ensuring forward progress.

Lauren handles multiple projects at once, gets everything done within deadlines, and does it all with a smile on her face. Since she has a marketing background, I have had the pleasure of learning so much from her. Without her, I don’t think I would’ve learned so much about the digital and automation aspects of marketing. She’s a great teacher and always makes me want to learn more particularly because she herself always wants to learn more!

Sheena Desai,<br /> Marketing Manager

Connie Ducaine,<br /> SVP Strategic Solutions

Lauren is a delight to work with and fun to be around. I have also found Lauren to be open to suggestions and feedback, and confident enough to acknowledge a need for clarification or assistance. I think it is pretty impressive that she has been able to juggle so much during COVID-19 without losing her composure.

It’s a pleasure to work with Lauren on projects. She is organized, well-prepared and incredibly helpful along every step of the way in project planning! She has a gift in managing various stakeholders and communication skills to ensure we are all informed and know the specific details needed and the larger vision.

Bethany Cardillo, VP<br /> Learning and Development

Tracy Brubaker, COO

Lauren is a gift to Vital Decisions. She is a great teammate- someone you want leading your product development. She is helping us reach into new markets with our expertise and has taken on new opportunities in the most incredible way! She’s an amazing colleague who shows other women that yes you can chase all your dreams and realize them!

Lauren has been amazing keeping all of the various pieces to projects moving and ensuring that nothing is falling through the cracks. She communicates clearly and effectively, to make sure everyone involved is on the same page. Lauren has gone above and beyond in so many ways to ensure project success, I am so thankful for her dedication.

Julie Moloney,<br /> VP Client Relations