The work
The hardest problems are rarely technical.
They come down to people: misaligned expectations, competing priorities, and concerns that have not yet been voiced.
About
People first.
Always.
Across 17+ years leading digital projects and programs, I have learned that empathy is one of the most valuable tools a delivery leader can bring to the work. Listening carefully and understanding what drives decisions builds trust, surfaces risk earlier, and helps people work through difficult problems together.
My work spans enterprise website modernization and global digital transformation, bringing together strategy, design, engineering, QA, content, analytics, and localization. The goal is simple: create clarity, reduce friction, and help people move forward together.
- Experience
- 17+ years
- Focus
- Enterprise transformation
- Base
- St. Paul, Minnesota
Experience
Built in the
work itself.
2024 — Present
Program Delivery Lead
Horizontal Digital
Leads digital programs for organizations navigating complex website modernization and transformation initiatives across strategy, design, engineering, QA, content, analytics, and localization.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
2022 — 2024
Senior Project Manager
Horizontal Digital
Directed enterprise delivery with a focus on continuous process improvement, risk management, and cross-functional alignment.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
2016 — 2022
Project Manager
The Nerdery
Managed client-facing and internal digital initiatives across healthcare, entertainment, financial services, government, and retail—from discovery through delivery.
Bloomington, Minnesota
2008 — 2016
Customer Support & Production Coordinator
TECNAVIA
Managed simultaneous client projects, encouraged open dialogue, and coordinated needs across customers and production teams.
Burnsville, Minnesota
How I lead
From uncertain
to inevitable.
- 01
Create clarity
Turn competing priorities and complex requirements into decisions teams can act on.
- 02
Build trust
Listen carefully, surface concerns early, and create space for honest cross-functional collaboration.
- 03
Sustain momentum
Build delivery systems that help teams solve problems together without depending on one person for every answer.
What colleagues say
Trusted when the work gets hard.
“Sam always came to meetings, both internally and externally, well prepared. If he was presented with a question outside his wheelhouse, he worked to learn the details of each workstream.”
“Sam has an amazing talent for clarifying vague project requirements, staying on top of client communication, and managing expectations and scope in a tactful manner.”
Foundation
University of St. Thomas
B.A., Business Administration — Entrepreneurship
2004 — 2008
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Scrum Alliance — issued 2021, expired 2023