Regan Vanden Boogard is the Director of Product & Development Operations at Education Analytics and joined EA in 2023. Regan is from Eau Claire, WI, USA and attended the University of Iowa and Marquette University. She has volunteered at GiGi’s Playhouse, Product Tank | Madison, and American Family Championship.
How would you describe your role on the Product and Development Operations team?
In my role, I support teams that are envisioning, building and improving our products and service offerings at EA.
What interested you in working at EA?
EA’s mission really hit home for me, and I am excited to be part of a movement that is head-on tackling the challenges educators face to understand and use data to drive equitable, positive student outcomes.
We know that every day is different, but what would a typical day at EA look like for you?
I am honored to be in a leadership role and serving as a product manager for a few of our software products. Our small but mighty group works with and in cross-functional teams to develop new products, features, and services. We are also responsible for supporting and scaling our product management, human-centered design and customer support practices. So, my typical day might go from creating a board presentation to working with designers and engineers sketching out a new idea.
What skills do you possess that you find helpful in your role?
I enjoy learning and expanding my understanding of the world. It has driven me to pursue a second master’s degree and seek out expertise-based professional communities, workshops and conferences. Through my experiences, I’ve refined my leadership, group facilitation and strategic planning skills, but most of all, being curious and staying humble is best when collaborating with others on projects big and small.
What is the most rewarding aspect to your role?
I enjoy helping people and teams find new ways to work together to uncover new insights and craft exceptional product and service experiences.
What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on at EA?
So far, I've been able to lend my experience to our software products. I don’t have a favorite, and it will be even more difficult to choose as I work with additional technology, research, and analytics product and services teams.
If you had to choose a different team to work on at EA, which team would you pick and why?
I can’t pick just one! A few that I might start with are our Research, Analytics or Data Engineering teams, because I enjoy organizing data, making it useful and then analyzing it to uncover new insights.
What is something you enjoy in your free time?
Travel, skiing, reading books, playing board games (Catan, Sushi-Go, and Codenames are some favorites) or video games (Zelda and any Metroidvania-style game), occasionally binge-watching interesting TV series and crafting.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be in a career that allowed me to improve the world around me by helping others. Originally, I figured that would be tied to research and medicine; however, a passion for innovation, technology, and problem solving led me to a path in product design and development instead!
What is something that you would tell your younger self about your career?
Stay curious. Focus on your strengths and not on your weaknesses. Hard work, determination, and grit will take you far but don’t wait in the shadows for someone else to notice you. Have pride in your abilities and step out into the light to advocate for yourself and others like you!
Read more of Regan’s thoughts in a blog she co-wrote with four other EA staff on their reflections of the 2022-23 school year.