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Introducing Karen Schilli as the New Director of IT Governance, Portfolio, Capacity & Demand Management at WashU IT

As the new Director of IT Governance, Portfolio, and Capacity and Demand Management, Karen Schilli brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of WashU’s unique IT landscape. In her new role, she will lead key initiatives in IT governance, strategic portfolio alignment, and capacity planning across our organization.

This critical role places Schilli at the forefront of developing strategies that align our projects and services with WashU’s goals, while ensuring that our resources are allocated strategically and sustainably.

Schilli’s career with WashU has spanned almost a decade, and her diverse experience across multiple facets of the institution has uniquely prepared her to take on this role. Reflecting on her journey and what drew her to this new position, she shared, “I applied for this role because I saw it as a combination of my favorite things – figuring out how all the pieces can fit together, driving meaningful change, and working alongside people who take pride in the work they do.”

She added, the role will provide her an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the organization. 

“After almost a decade, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing many facets of WashU – from my start in clinical research, transitioning into the technology space, to completing the EMBA program through Olin Business School,” Schilli said. “I’m excited to build on those existing relationships and for the potential of creating new ones.”

In her role, Schilli will work collaboratively across WashU IT and with Distributed IT partners to capture and prioritize demands for IT projects and services through streamlined governance processes. She will lead a Center of Excellence (CoE) approach to foster data-driven decision-making and promote advanced scenario planning and predictive analytics. This approach will help elevate our team from diagnostic capabilities to forward-thinking and strategic planning, and enable us to drive transformational change.

Schilli sees this as a time of incredible potential within WashU IT and is inspired by the possibilities for positive impact.

“The incredible opportunity we have is in front of us,” she noted. “Transformational work is happening all across WashU IT, and there is so much potential for positive impact. I can’t help but be excited to play a part in that.”

Eager to learn from and collaborate with our team’s vast pool of talent and expertise, Schilli added, “I’m very much looking forward to working with everyone. WashU has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and I’m eager to learn as much as I can from those around me and continue building off what has already been accomplished.”

We are excited to welcome Schilli to her new role and look forward to the growth, innovation and continued excellence she will bring to our team.