The Roster: Vol. 21

At Credera, we believe we’re truly better together. The Roster is a monthly series that allows you to get to know leaders at all levels across the firm.

Andrew Warden

VICE PRESIDENT & PARTNER

Dallas, TX

Favorite Book: “Boys In The Boat” is a book about the 1936 US Olympic Rowing team. It’s one of the best books on teamwork and leadership I’ve ever read. “Gates of Fire” is another favorite; it’s a historical fiction about the battle of Thermopylae. It’s another essential book on leadership – so much so that the former commandant of the Marine Corps made all of his general staff read it.  Lastly, “Captains Courageous.” This one is near and dear to my heart. My Dad had me read it growing up and now I am pushing my boys to read it. It’s a story about a boy’s journey to manhood.

I’ll leave it at those three even though I know I’m missing some.

Passions Outside of Work: I love to run, love to read, and love to eat (favorite place right now is Mi Cocina… they make a great Mambo Taxi). And generally just hanging out with my family. My boys are at a fun age right now and I’m trying to maximize quality time with them in this stage.

Favorite Sports Team: I’m a glutton for suffering and punishment. My favorite team is Baylor and we seem to outdo ourselves in ways we can suffer as fans.

Personal Values: Michael Connelly has a series of books about a homicide detective, Harry Bosch, who lives by the code “Everybody counts or nobody counts.” This is one of the values I want to teach my boys, and I hope it’s what people say I live my life by.

Favorite Credera Memory: Might be a cop-out answer, but my favorite memories are seeing people I’ve worked with closely get promoted, grow, or get a new assignment or responsibility, and feeling like I played some small part in that. Those are my favorite things.

Other than that, the three Ragnar races we’ve done. It’s smelly, it’s no sleep, and a little miserable, but so much bonding and fun. You get to know people so well, and it’s fun to compete with people outside of work.

Role Model: My dad. He is my father, he was the best man in my wedding, and I still consider him my best friend. He is also my attorney, my counselor, my therapist, and he is all of those things because he only ever set out to be my Dad.

Rushmi Stauffer

DESIGNER, EXPERIENCE DESIGN

Dallas, TX

Passions Outside of Work: I love dancing, mainly Bollywood fusion and hip-hop. It’s the ultimate stress reliever and has been the best outlet for me to fuse my Indian American culture. I grew up choreographing and performing for special events and competed nationally on a collegiate team. In my free time, I attend workshops hosted by my favorite choreographers as well as instruct Bollywood dance at a local studio.

Podcast Playlist: How I Built This and the sermon podcast for my church, Valley Creek.

Favorite Tech Tool: I love my Nest hub. From checking in on my new puppy to seeing packages get stolen from my porch (true story), I love being in the know of what’s happening at home right from the Nest app.

Life Hack: When you travel with checked bags, tie obnoxious ribbons to them. Spotting them at baggage claim will be a breeze!

Favorite Credera Memory: Shortly after joining Credera, I got married and changed my last name. But when it came time to reflect this in the Credera system, I also changed my first name to my middle name. Staffing me on projects was a nightmare. I went from Ann Abraham to Rushmi Stauffer, and everyone thought I was a different person. Pretty hilarious! It took many months for people to get used to the name change, including myself.

Best Advice You’ve Received: Set a clear vision for your life. Beyond long-term goals, a vision will become the ultimate why behind everything you do. This has helped me be more intentional with where I invest my time and has filtered out countless distractions.

Devon Leasure

CONSULTANT, MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

Denver, CO

Favorite Books:

• Nonfiction – Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

• Fiction – Anything by Chuck Palahniuk

   

Passions Outside of Work: Blowing glass or art of any kind, cooking my farmers market finds, and hiking or skiing depending on the season.

Favorite Sports Team: The rec sports soccer team I play on with Melissa Arteaga, Ben Grotta, and Joe Pfiefer.

Office Music Playlist: Whatever concert I’m going to next (currently: The Black Keys).

Personal Values: Authenticity, tenacity, and empathy.

Client Experience Highlight: Successfully leading an executive review meeting with my current client’s CFO, CTO, and CMO only 6 months into my career as a consultant.

Mentorship Experience: I cherish my monthly breakfasts with my mentor, Amanda Leachman, where we dive into both professional and personal challenges.  My mentor relationship is a deep and meaningful part of my growth here at Credera.

Best Advice You’ve Ever Received: Lead with lollipops.  A lollipop moment is when a seemingly simple gesture fundamentally and positively impacts someone’s life – it’s about offering value with no-strings-attached.  I seek to give out as many “lollipops” as I can, as often as I can. (https://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership/up-next?language=en)

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