Her Story
About Francesca
Frances Hollman serves as a Senior IT Business Analyst and Project Manager at Dairy Queen. In this dual role within the Product Management Office, she manages software onboarding projects, integrations with internal databases using APIs, and development of an internal data center tool, collaborating with developers and architects while handling testing, training, and issue resolution. Prior to Dairy Queen, she spent 15 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, beginning with an internship and advancing through roles in finance and facilities, where she gained project management experience that led to her PMP certification. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the College of St. Catharines, now known as the University of St. Catharines, and was elected to the National Honor Society for Speech Communication. Hollman attributes her professional growth to her faith and mentorship from colleagues such as Tamara Wheeler.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Francesca
01What do you attribute your success to?
My faith as a Christian woman and follower of Jesus Christ has been the core. I have been fortunate to be in the room with very intelligent, influential, wise, knowledgeable people who have taken me under their wing to help develop me, like my mentor Tamara Wheeler at the Federal Reserve.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You have to teach people how to treat you. This means setting healthy boundaries, speaking up, and setting a standard for yourself professionally so you get more balance of respect from others. I learned this after coming into corporate America young and being a people pleaser.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You're not going to know everything and that is okay because there is space to learn and grow. Go in confident knowing that if I don't know something I can learn it. Also teach people how to treat you by setting healthy boundaries and knowing when to delegate so you don't burn out.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges include everything getting dumped on you as a PM, not always having authority to make calls but being the mouthpiece, leading to burnout especially as a people pleaser. Opportunities include acquiring new technical skill sets, being around developers and architects, branching into different project management, and learning to set boundaries and delegate.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, keeping my word, taking ownership, communication being authentic and having hard conversations, and respect in general - showing and honoring respect in how we treat people and show up.
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