Her Story
About Andria
Andria Owens is a Taxpayer Services Supervisor with the Tennessee Department of Revenue, based in Nashville, Tennessee. She has seven years of experience in government revenue compliance and has served in her supervisory role for one and a half years, where she oversees a team of five and provides side-by-side training for new hires and underperforming employees to support full tax compliance for businesses generating revenue in the state. Owens transitioned to this career after working as a Certified Medical Assistant and credits her mother for encouraging her to apply with the state. She is a graduate of the Tennessee Department of Revenue Leadership Academy and has made the Dean's List several times while studying accounting at DeRois University before transferring to MTSU to pursue a degree in Management and Leadership with a minor in Law. Owens is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and volunteers with the nonprofit Tennessee for Homes. She attributes her success to mentors who saw potential in her and to the failures that built her strength, confidence, perseverance, and leadership. Owens is passionate about mentoring others, especially women, and advises young women entering the field to have confidence in themselves and their ability to lead.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Andria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the people that saw the best in me at times when I couldn't see it in myself. Also, the failures I had to face in life played a major role in shaping who I am. Those experiences unlocked my inner warrior. It taught me strength, confidence, perseverance, and leadership. It didn't just mold me into a leader, but it also inspires me to help others become leaders themselves.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The best career advice I would give a young woman is the same advice that my manager gave me: Have that confidence in yourself and your ability to lead. Because confidence is that guiding force to both success and leadership. When you're leading others, you need to have that confidence in your ability to lead them to success.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The greatest challenges are that there are many exemplary professionals striving for advancement, so it's important to stand out and demonstrate you are the strongest candidate. There's a lot of promotional opportunities but challenges with women in the field feeling limited, like a man is going to get the job before me because he's a man or has been there longer or has a better degree. I embraced that and used it as fuel to change a challenge to an opportunity.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.