Kelly Tetterton, formerly the Director of Web Experience, was recently promoted to Partner at our firm. Over the last five years, Ms. Tetterton has cultivated a talented and award-winning web team at Clarity. She has an infectious laugh with humor and wit to match and leads by example, managing her team with that delicate balance of likability while commanding respect.
We asked her to reflect on her position and time here as well as where she sees Clarity heading in the future.
What made you initially decide to work for Clarity Partners?
“I had worked with [Managing Partners] Rod and David in a previous capacity on a cooperative project with the Chicago Public Library, so I already knew that the founding values of the firm were based in integrity and quality. Additionally, Clarity’s focus on public sector work appealed to me – the idea of being able to creatively solve problems that would immediately serve thousands of my Chicago-land neighbors really resonated.”
What do you feel you have learned from your team here?
“I have been extremely fortunate to work with such a variety of people at Clarity – I am always, always, ALWAYS learning something from my colleagues. There is the expected: my team is regularly alerting me to new changes/updates/possibilities in the web development space (new options in Drupal, new Javascript frameworks, etc.). But what I really love is learning the unexpected: new technologies outside of the web experience space, ways to make our code deployments more efficient, ways to improve our QA processes, new design trends – everything!”
When asking her colleagues to reflect on their experience working with Kelly, the mutual admiration is clear.
“Imagine working for someone you trust wholeheartedly. That’s what it’s like working with Kelly,” said Suzie Miller, Creative Director. “I know she’s listening and I strive for her patience, but my favorite part of working with Kelly is being a recipient of the joy she radiates every moment of the day.”
“David Namkung and I are thrilled to promote Kelly Tetterton to Partner,” said Clarity Managing Partner, Rodney Zech. “Kelly is a true professional who embraces each and every one of our core values. She provides exceptional customer service, delivers quality work, collaborates well with her team, welcomes change, and has great integrity. Our Web Experience practice group has grown into a world-class organization under her leadership.”
That quality work is a result of Kelly’s methodology, the goals being client self-sufficiency and long-term viability.
What approach do you take to create things you feel will remain sustainable and relevant in terms of web design and development? What are the challenges?
“We are always focused on empowering our clients to maintain their own sites as much as possible – we create websites that can be sustained for years in the future with minimal support from us. That means that sometimes we need to have discussions about what’s best for a website three years in the future vs the sexy, custom thing we could do to make a big splash on initial launch – it’s a balance.”
What do you think will change about Clarity Partners over the next five years? What makes you say that?
“What won’t change? Clarity is a management and technology consulting firm, and both of those areas are constantly evolving by their very nature. In terms of Clarity itself, I see us continuing to grow – there’s no shortage of the need for our services!”
What would you say most inspires your work?
“The ability to do real and concrete good for people who need better information in the context of a better experience – all done so invisibly that it just seems natural and right.”
On behalf of the whole Clarity Partners team, we congratulate Kelly on this cornerstone accomplishment.