Her Story
About Desira
Desira Daniel serves as manager of pharmacy workflow innovation in pharma technology, a role she has held for nearly a year after progressing through business analyst positions at various levels and acting as a project manager. With over five years of experience in the field, her background includes supporting research and development, operations, clinical data dashboards, and proof-of-concept projects such as a finance system. She earned an Associates of Arts degree concentrated in pre-med from College of Lake County and a bachelor's in psychology from Eastern Illinois University. She is currently pursuing an MBA in project management from Walden University while holding an AWS Machine Learning certification and completing Google AI Fundamentals. Desira mentors interns since 2023 and has mentored for STEAM for Girls for two years. She attributes her success to her father's resilience as an immigrant who served 24 years in the military and now works in maintenance, along with her mother's emphasis on prayer. Her professional values center on consideration and work-life balance, and she advises young women entering tech to seize opportunities to learn like a sponge and not hesitate to take the lead.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Desira
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes from my father's resilience as an immigrant who served 24 years in the military and now works in maintenance, and my mother's reminder that prayer works. Witnessing his endurance through hardships like walking miles to school and overcoming personal challenges like illness while meeting deadlines has shaped my own perseverance.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best professional advice I've ever received is to soak it up like a sponge. Whether walking the halls, networking, or exchanging skills with interns, seize every opportunity to learn because you can later release that knowledge to others like a sponge releasing water, and then soak up more again.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You can do it. Tech may be predominantly a man's field, but women can come in, evolve, dominate, and have great success. Don't be afraid to take the lead, even if men are more looked upon for leadership roles, because women are just as capable.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Being young at 29 in a field with people who have 20-25+ years of experience makes it challenging to speak up in meetings. However, in our agile work streams, there's opportunity to bring new ideas and suggest different routes instead of sticking to old waterfall methods.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Consideration and work-life balance are key. We have jobs but also lives outside work, so support others battling illness or family issues. Know when to take time off with no phones or computers, be present with family on trips, and use PTO to recharge even if just at home.
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