Natalie Cotela

About Natalie Cotela

I thrive at the intersection of business strategy and technical execution. With an MBA and PMP certification, I specialize in moving organizations past the \"how\" of a project and into the \"why\" of product value. Currently, at AppFolio, I am spearheading a departmental evolution from a traditional project-led mindset to a high-velocity, product-centric delivery model.As both a Senior Business Systems Analyst and a Scrum Master for multiple delivery teams, I don’t just manage tasks—I architect systems. Whether I’m optimizing Jira ecosystems for global transparency or mentoring junior analysts on GTM requirements, my goal is always the same: remove friction and accelerate ROI.

Experience

1. Senior Business Systems Analyst Scrum Master

   AppFolio

   Mar 2025 — Present

   Strategic Transformation & LeadershipOrchestrated a departmental shift from a project-based to a product-delivery model, architecting the framework and training cross-functional teams and stakeholders on Agile methodologies.Empower and mentor junior analysts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and establishing standardized best practices for business analysis across the organization.Agile Delivery & OptimizationServe as Scrum Master for 3 high-velocity delivery teams, facilitating all ceremonies and removing blockers to ensure consistent sprint goals and high-quality releases.Partner with Go-To-Market (GTM) stakeholders to translate complex business needs into actionable technical requirements, directly optimizing workflows for the delivery organization.Technical GovernanceLead Jira Administrator: Architected and maintain the Jira ecosystem to streamline project tracking, reporting, and inter-departmental transparency.

Education

• Purdue Global

  Masters, Business Administration and Management, General

• Grand Rapids Community College

  Associate's degree, General Studies

  2006 — 2008

• Grand Valley State University

  Bachelor of Science, Psychology

  2008 — 2011