| After selling Computer Educational Services to Hi-TECH Connections
(a local
systems integrator), she continued to grow the
business - by 300% within two years. She eventually left the company she
built and moved to Maryland to take a job as Vice President in the
credit card industry - first at MBNA and then at First USA, both in
Wilmington Delaware. There she advised senior management and improved
processes. She moved on to become Chief Technology Officer at two internet startups: Millstar, an e-commerce software development company, and Commercelinks.net, a company developing a new use for videoconferencing: Live Video Customer Service. Family obligations necessitated moving back to Berks County, PA, so in 2001 she started yet another company - a consulting firm specializing in helping companies make better technology decisions. Dr. Rhoads is and has been active in many professional organizations including the Society for Advancement of Consulting, Berks County Chamber of Commerce Technology Committee, Society for Information Management, Association of Information Technology Professionals, and Women In Technology International (WITI). She has received many honors in her life including a quarterly President's Mile High Award at Hi-TECH Connections, a Financial Excellence Award from MBNA, a featured consultant by Society for Advanced Consulting and being featured for Women In Science and Technology by WITI. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, and has spoken at 66 events in the last three years. She has been widely published and quoted in the industry, publishing over 100 articles in the last three years. Her articles have been translated into several languages including Chinese Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese. During her training days she wrote over 60 instructional manuals, and currently writes a bi-weekly column for the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal. She is currently working on a book about Business Strategy and Technology Decision Making. She has a Doctorate in Educational Technology from Lehigh University, and a Master's degree from Temple University. Her undergraduate degree is from Kutztown University. |