Damzelfly

 I’m Kristen Haskell and if you already know me, you have heard for years how passionate I am about pee pants.  Even if you don’t know me, if you have gotten this far in the web site you get it.  I wanted to share a bit about my professional life and why, with your support, I know that I can make this happen for all of us.

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The early part of my mechanical engineering career was focused on design engineering.  Working in diverse fields; automotive sensors, golf swing analyzers, safety equipment and custom machine tooling. I came to understand that design is a process regardless of product.  Here, I learned how to take a concept and develop it to market.  I saw the power of good communication and collaborative design with both customers and suppliers as a vehicle for getting things right.

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When the 2001 market crashed, I took a hiatus from engineering and became a pro ski patroller by winter and opened a home renovation business with my husband by summer. I take enormous value from these experiences.  How to work together in rapidly changing conditions to keep mountain operations going while keeping guests and staff safe.  Starting and running a business is a lot of work.  If a lot of work is what it takes to see thousands of women’s lives made easier in my lifetime…that is what I am going to do.

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I returned to engineering after the recession started to take hold of us all.  I turned my focus to manufacturing knowing I could help keep manufacturing jobs in the US by switching to the design of processes.  I was inspired by the vision and ethics of Jim & Anne Davis while working as a manufacturing engineer for New Balance.  I dove deep into the Lean Manufacturing movement that was spawned by the masters of the Toyota Way.  For Toyota, it was not about making more for less.  It was about understanding human value and not wasting people’s time with non value added activities.  It was about understanding that people want to come to work do a good job, they are inherently clever and when you elevate them, they are what makes the company.  Your job is to help remove obstacles by never assuming that you understand the problem before listening, observing and seeking the true why of a problem. 

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I am ready to take the next step by bringing my design and manufacturing experience together to remove just one of the obstacles of being a woman.   

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristengranthaskell/

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