SitusAMC Power Pro: Andrea Melendez

Name: Andrea Melendez

Title: Assistant Vice President, Lead Business Analyst

Office: Remote

Day to Day: I’m the lead business analyst for Acuity. I work on a document classification and data extraction operation that we built from the ground up. I have three business analysts who report to me. We’re tasked with maintaining our classification library, as well as working with stakeholders to gather functionality requirements and translate those requirements for developers. Every day I manage my team and respond to requests from stakeholders. Then I work with our lead system architect to nail down requirements and test the functionality once it’s ready. I’m also responsible for release notes, where I put together a guide to whatever new functionality we release to production.

Path to SitusAMC: I previously worked with a few other SitusAMC tech employees at a different company, including Tammy Sherman, who is now a lead business analyst at SitusAMC. She trained me at the previous company where we both worked and recommended me to SitusAMC. That was almost nine years ago.

Mentors: I’ve been blessed with several great mentors throughout my career. At a previous company I had a mentor named Kim who really recognized my potential and helped me to advance my career and gain confidence by branching out into new areas. Tammy Sherman has given me a great deal of industry knowledge. My manager Melissa Dionne has also been a big influence on my development as a leader and has taught me invaluable management tools and strategies.

Biggest Career Success: I’ve been lucky to have a variety of successes at SitusAMC but I would say my biggest success is building a highly successful machine-learned classification library. We are hearing from industry leaders like Freddie Mac that our classification accuracy is the highest in the industry, and that gives me a huge sense of satisfaction.

First Job: I was a receptionist at a nursing home, and I really loved it. I made some pretty special friends there that would come to visit me throughout the day. I had one lady in particular named Alverta who would always come and steal the cookies that were set out for admissions tours. She had absolutely no filter, but I learned to appreciate her honesty and laugh at the inappropriate things that would fly out of her mouth.

Fondest Memories: Playing softball. I was a fast-pitch pitcher, and lucky enough to travel. I had an amazing time seeing the country, getting to know my teammates and spending lots of quality time with my parents.

Perspective From The Past: I think my younger self would be very surprised at where I am today. I struggled with confidence a lot as a younger person, and I was fearful of not finding my place in the world. And here I am now -- at home with my career as if it were meant specifically for me. Though I lacked confidence back then I now see I was a leader in my own right, I just didn’t know it. I really value the people that I work with daily and I’m always impressed with our teamwork.

My Next Trip: I feel like I am always planning my next trip! My next travel destination goal is Costa Rica. My boss just shared photos and stories of her family trip there and it sounds amazing. But if I could go anywhere, I really want to go to Africa on safari.

My Hero: I really admire Lizzo. She’s not only comfortable in her own skin, she’s also a human rights activist and brings awareness and support to issues that desperately need it. I recently went to her concert with friends, and it was one of the most inspiring events I’ve ever attended.