Her Story
About Charrise
Charrise Robinson serves as an IT Specialist, or Information Technology Specialist, for the federal government at the Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C. She began her government role in 2018 after more than two decades in the private sector, drawn by the opportunity to contribute to public service and the stability of government work. With over 30 years of total experience in IT, Robinson manages SharePoint issues, permissions and access for web applications such as Drupal, Salesforce, and Jira, handles layout design and web management, addresses JIRA tickets, supports replatforming projects through change management and staff training, and focuses on bridging gaps between IT and business needs. She earned a bachelor's degree from UCLA in 2000 as a liberal arts major with a minor in computer programming and later obtained a certificate in web development through the UC Extension program. Robinson also holds a Scrum Master certification, which she received in December 2018. She attributes her success to her ability to relate to people, listen to their needs without pushing her own agenda, exercise patience, and communicate effectively to help others understand technology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Charrise
01What do you attribute your success to?
I always go back to it. I can relate to people. I think people like to work with me because I try to understand what they're looking for. I don't try to push my own agenda. I listen to what they need, and then I tell them what we have in our toolkit to help you get what you're looking for. So I try to bridge those gaps. And I feel like I understand everybody is not gonna understand at my level. I've been in IT for a long time, but I try to get them to see that it doesn't matter if you don't know, it's okay to come back and ask. If you need 30 trainings to get better, I'm always here to help you to that next level. So, I think that I'm patient with the people. I understand the people. I never look down on the business when they understand something about IT.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It doesn't matter what position you hold, you can always have influence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would give her the advice of, Nowadays, like, a lot of people can, like, have a bio-certification. They can do all of these, you know, great things with AI and this and that, but never forget the importance of the soft skills. learning how to reach people, learning how to communicate with people, learning how to, comprehend and what they're looking for will get you a lot further than just having a certification. I think that the soft skill aspect gets lost. I feel like if you develop that along with the patients, you will be a powerhouse.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Like I said before, IT and business. Can you, bridging that gap. That's always, to me, been, like, a challenge. ... IT supports the business... sometimes that can be a challenge, because sometimes IT wants to kind of set the tone. ... people underestimate that IT is a people job. ... IT is about people. You have to understand how the people work, the business for the public. It requires you to talk to people.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think that, Let's say, communication, between IT and the business. Like, I think that the value of, like, trying to Bridge that gap, because there's often gaps between the two. I think that I value the ability to be able to be that person in the middle that can connect the technology with the business. I value that. I also value patience on the job. ... I value patience, communication, I value patience. I also value, I value, like, comprehension. I think being able to, like, take somebody's idea, understand the requirements, and then turn it into a very, like, feasible product, I think is something that I value.
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