Genise Dawson | Resume
Fractional AI Enablement and Change Management Lead | Business Operations Lead
Summary
Fractional AI Enablement and Change Management lead for small and growing teams. Over 20 years building programs, governance structures, and cross-functional systems inside organizations that scaled from a few hundred employees to 40,000, most recently co-leading operations for Microsoft's first AI Skills Accelerator in my organization. I diagnose what is broken, rally the team around the fix, and see every engagement through to completion. Available for short-term and part-time fractional engagements, remote or hybrid.
Fractional Focus
AI Enablement and Upskilling • Change Management • Business Operations Lead
Key Achievements
- Co-led operations for Microsoft's first AI Skills Accelerator in my organization and built its operating playbook, growing from one team to three organizations including one of 60,000+ employees; about 40% completed against a 25 to 30% baseline
- Cut weekly program prep time from 8 hours to 3 through templatized communications and automation
- Supported an organization that scaled from roughly 300 to 40,000 employees
- Led change management, alongside Real Estate & Facilities, for a $100M campus renovation affecting roughly 1,700 employees, including 950+ engineers, with 67% approval in a post-move survey
- Led integration of newly acquired companies, including Accompli, Sunrise, and Yammer
- Built a global admin network from 1 to 135 professionals, with budget authority scaling from $500,000 to $10 million
- Produced All Hands Meetings as the organization scaled past 40,000 employees, with the production budget growing from $400,000 to $1.4 million
- Built a 7-pillar OKR framework used for senior leadership reporting across nine business groups
- Achieved 98% conversion across inclusive hiring programs
- Grew ERG membership from 19 to 550+
- Co-led product feedback that shipped two Microsoft features
- Earned three Gold Star Awards
Experience
Co-Founder & COO
Catalyst Coded Foundation
- Lead operations, partnerships, and program design
- Build systems for founder support and cohort programming
Founder | Strategy, Operations, and Executive Coaching Consultant
Genise Dawson, LLC
- Provide operations strategy, program design, and executive coaching consulting for growth-stage businesses and emerging leaders using a Build, Launch, Scale framework
- Audited operational gaps causing revenue loss and workflow breakdowns, then implemented systems to stabilize scheduling, billing, and internal communication
- Serve clients across education, beauty, federal contracting, and real estate sectors
- Executive coaching clients include National Chairpersons of the Board for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), supporting organization-wide board leadership
Business Program Manager
Microsoft
- Owned enterprise programs across a 40,000-person organization
- Delivered 112% Intern Day attendance
- Built 7-pillar OKR framework
- Led inclusive hiring programs (98% conversion)
Co-Founder & Chair
ERG Leadership (E+D Chapter)
- Grew membership from 19 → 550+
- Delivered product feedback that shipped two Microsoft features
Senior Executive Assistant
Microsoft
- Operational partner to EVP through org growth from 300 → 40,000
- Built global admin network from 1 → 135
- Led change management for $100M renovation
- Led integration of newly acquired companies (Accompli, Sunrise, Yammer), deciding org placement and assessing acquired talent
Administrative Assistant
Microsoft
- Three-time Gold Star Award recipient
Benefits Administrator
Microsoft
- Presented weekly at company-wide orientations
Strategic Operations Facilitation
Hybrid facilitation blending innovation, operational alignment, and decision-making acceleration. Experience includes ERG leadership teams, women-led nonprofit organizations, division-wide administrative groups, and cross-functional support teams.
Volunteer & Community Leadership
- Microsoft E+D BAM
- Junior League of Seattle
- Valley Black Collective
- The Perfect Push Foundation
Certifications
- Chief of Staff Certified Professional | Chief of Staff Academy
- Certified Project Manager (CPM) | eCornell University
- Artificial Intelligence for Business and Prompt Engineering | Quantum Leap Academy
- The Coaching Habit | Microsoft Learning
Core Competencies
AI Enablement and Adoption • Strategic Planning • Executive Partnership • Operational Systems Design • OKRs & KPIs • Program Ownership • Cross-Functional Alignment • Change Management • Workforce Strategy • Inclusive Hiring • Event Production • M&A Integration • Sprint Facilitation • Governance Design • Employee Experience
Tools & Platforms
Anthropic: Claude, Claude Cowork, Claude Design | OpenAI: ChatGPT | Google: Gemini, Google AI, NotebookLM, Google Workspace | Microsoft: Microsoft 365, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power BI, Power Automate, SharePoint, Teams Live Events, Microsoft Events, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Planner, Loop, Viva Engage, MS Designer | Other: Lovable, Perplexity, Notion, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, iCIMS, SuccessFactors, HubSpot, Salesforce, Asana, ClickUp, Canva, Squarespace