Miranda Whittemore Helps Support Connections Between Staff and Technology for ServiceNet
Miranda Whittemore, the office manager and support coordinator for ServiceNet’s Information Technology (IT) department, acts as the key liaison between IT and ServiceNet employees, addressing individual and program-specific technology needs.
After studying marketing in college, Miranda spent ten years working in the food business, with her most recent position as the catering office manager at the Black Sheep Deli in Amherst. Interested in exploring the nonprofit sector, she applied to ServiceNet. Miranda was already familiar with ServiceNet’s work as a friend’s sibling participated in one of their programs. She had also interned with a nonprofit in Springfield that worked with individuals with disabilities, and her father is a senior leader for a nonprofit in the South Shore. For Miranda, the move to ServiceNet felt like both an exciting change and a natural fit.
“I really like the people-facing parts of this work,” Miranda says. “It’s interesting to learn what the different employees and programs do. When I work with them, I get to learn from their knowledge of their program and experience and merge that with IT’s expertise. Together, we all grow in new ways.”
Miranda emphasizes that learning is a key aspect of any IT job, as the changing technology landscape requires individuals in IT to learn new things, troubleshoot, and stay flexible.
“Technology is always evolving and updating. Sometimes, things that may go wrong temporarily are not from us but because Microsoft or another system has made a bunch of changes. And everyone in all organizations that use that system must adapt quickly to those changes. We want things to be smooth for folks, which means learning and pivoting quickly on our end to offer the best support.”
Because the IT team serves so many different programs and employees, Miranda and her team utilize a ticketing system, which Miranda helps oversee, to keep all requests organized and prioritized. The IT phone line automatically turns voicemails into tickets, allowing the system to process the request immediately. But not everyone knows what kind of ticket to submit, or they may prefer to talk to a human. Miranda is often in-person in the office and invites people to call or stop by and chat with her anytime.
Beyond her current role, in the past few months, Miranda has also become more involved in project management and collaborating with the Information Systems (IS) team. The room for growth is something she appreciates not only about her position but also about all of ServiceNet.
“Working in IT, you can see how many people move up in ServiceNet, and then seeing folks who’ve been here for many years become VPs is exciting,” Miranda says. “I feel encouraged to learn more and develop new skills. I definitely think that there’s room to grow in multiple different directions depending on your interest.”
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