Sydney Thomas-Ware

About Sydney Thomas-Ware

I help organizations turn operational chaos into scalable systems ∼ especially where digital transformation is urgent but operational expertise is scarce.My BackgroundFor the past decade, I\'ve built my career in one of the most complex operational environments there is: healthcare revenue operations. I managed high-volume billing workflows, multi-stakeholder reconciliation, compliance-heavy processes, and cross-functional teams. That experience taught me something critical: operational sophistication isn\'t industry-specific. It\'s transferable.My Mindset 🧠When I see a broken process, I don\'t just fix the immediate issue. I think in systems. I break down workflows step-by-step, identify bottlenecks, and ask- Where is the friction- What can be automated- How do we prevent this from breaking again?One example: I inherited a daily tracking report in Microsoft excel that required manual row-by-row updates every single day. Instead of accepting \"that\'s how we\'ve always done it,\" I updated the formulas so the entire report auto-updated with just two inputs! That simple change saved the team 1 hour per week and eliminated manual errors entirely.I take the same approach with AI adoption. When I noticed refund request processing was eating 15-30 minutes per report and creating data entry errors, I built an AI-powered workflow (using Google Gemini) to extract the data I needed from complex reports. Copy ⇾ paste ⇾ done. Faster, cleaner, scalable. That\'s what led me to volunteer as an AI Trainer (Sidekick SuperUser Champion) at Highmark Health.I translate complex systems into scalable solutions, train cross-functional teams to adopt new tools with confidence and bring the kind of operational discipline that only comes from managing high-stakes, compliance-heavy environments where mistakes are expensive.What I\'m looking for in 2026 I\'m seeking senior operations roles where I can partner with technical teams to implement AI-driven processes, optimize operations, and build the kind of scalable infrastructure that turns operational complexity into competitive advantage.If your organization is scaling, adopting AI, or struggling with operational inefficiencies and you value someone who can sit at the table with confidence, ask the right questions, and build systems that actually work Let\'s connect.

Experience

1. Ai Trainer

   Highmark Health

   Sep 2024 — Present · US

   Selected to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI technology and real-world team adoption during Highmark\'s enterprise rollout of Sidekick (internal AI assistant powered by Google Gemini). AI adoption strategy: Participated in a 4-week user testing cycles for Sidekick and NotebookLM, evaluating functionality, UX, and model behavior to shape product development and reduce adoption friction Trained 80% of Billing team on AI implementation: Designed and delivered team training sessions, including 1:1 coaching on prompt writing for performance reviews, turning AI-curious users into AI-capable practitioners Created comprehensive prompt writing guide that became the team standard for performance reviews and AI-powered workflows Served as liaison between frontline staff and internal AI teams, gathering insights that shaped product documentation and feature prioritization Conduct thorough feature testing on our in-house Large Language Model (LLM) using the designated testing framework to evaluate functionality and performance. Regularly updated team on new feature rollouts and AI opportunities, building internal capability across non-technical usersTransformed team from AI-curious to AI-capable; recognized internally as the go-to person for making complex technology accessible.

Education

• Slippery Rock University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Communication, General

• The New School

  Master of Arts - MA, Communication and Media Studies

Skills

• Marketing
• Campaigns
• Marketing Communications
• Facebook
• Video Production
• Media Studies
• Research
• Crisis Communications
• Communications Planning
• Market Research
• Strategic Communications
• Strategy
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Marketing Strategy
• Event Planning
• Customer Service
• Social Media
• Hiring
• Blogging
• Wordpress
• Speech Writing
• Broadcast
• Photoshop
• Telephone Skills
• Newsletters
• Data Entry
• Youtube
• Corporate Communications
• Public Speaking
• Digital Media
• Sales
• Television
• Project Management
• Publicity
• Social Networking
• Brand Awareness
• Copywriting
• Journalism
• Teamwork
• Time Management