Her Story
About Tabatha
Tabatha BaxterHassan has built a diverse professional career spanning IT project management, agile coaching, and tourism. With roughly eight years in IT project management and agile methodologies, she advanced through corporate roles until industry shifts and multiple job changes prompted a pivot. She now applies her skills as co-founder of Ikadali Private Journeys, a luxury travel company offering customized private tours in Egypt, drawing on family networks and her background in product management and customer relationship building. Tabatha holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and an associate's degree in computer information systems and management information systems. Her professional credentials include Professional Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Product Owner, ICT Enterprise Agile Coach, SAFe Program Consultant, and IATA certification. She is also a FORA Travel partner. Tabatha attributes her success to resiliency, having navigated four job losses within two years while raising five children, and she emphasizes trusting oneself and remaining authentic. She previously volunteered with Agile for Patriots, providing agile training and career support to military veterans and spouses. Her advice to young women entering the field centers on believing in oneself, identifying personal gifts, and pursuing work that brings happiness.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tabatha
01What do you attribute your success to?
Resiliency. Going through roughly 4 job losses and job changes within a year or two, I had to learn to pull my bootstraps up. I have 5 children depending on me and showing them that you don't just give up. When I lost my job at NBCUniversal I felt devastated but learned I am more than my career. My son wrote in his college application that he looks up to me because I never give up and always push forward, using the quote my father told me about fear of the event being greater than the event itself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Trust yourself. A coach in the Agile industry told me to stop saying I don't know what I'm doing, listed my certifications, and pointed out that people who don't know what they're doing don't earn those. The issue was lack of confidence, not lack of knowledge. I had to learn to trust myself and be authentically me, which helped me get customers for our new business even without an online background.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believe in yourself and be authentically you. Everybody has a gift, and knowing what you're good at will take you far. Do something that makes you happy because you'll never have to work a day in your life. Do your best, and if your best isn't good enough then maybe that's not the right path. Being authentically who you are means you can never be wrong.
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