Blending Earned Value Management with a Human Perspective: Meet Brandi Gingery, Intern

Answering science’s biggest questions – like how to solve climate change or uncover dark energy’s effect on the universe – is a tall order. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it happen, from technology to planning and logistics. For Brandi Gingery, that means ensuring that projects like Berkeley Lab’s supercomputing upgrade and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) run efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

Brandi joined Manta Ray Consulting in June 2019 as an intern, and she’s already making an impact. Her time is focused on facilitating an Earned Value Management (EVM) approach to the construction upgrades that support Berkeley Lab’s new NERSC-9 supercomputer. Her work includes adding data to the project baseline, generating monthly reports and helping implement schedule-driven performance management. She has also supported MRC Project Controls Consultant Sally Wine on DESI and has taken on some additional work as Sally enjoys her sabbatical this fall.

Her proudest moments yet have included tracking change orders for a subcontractor and mastering the detailed Excel workflow required, along with client interaction.

“It’s deeply rewarding to see the firsthand impact of enabling on-time and on-budget projects,” Brandi said.

She earned a degree in international studies with a minor in European history at the University of California, Irvine, where she studied diverse cultures, societies and different time periods. Brandi recently changed careers from the hospitality industry to the EVM field and brings a unique perspective on collaboration to the team.

Through her past experience working with people, she developed strong communication skills that aid her in supporting client projects. Brandi has always enjoyed math and statistics as well, which made her switch to the data-centric EVM field a smooth one.

She’s also traveled around the world including Italy, Mexico, Canada and 22 U.S. states, and has lived all over the U.S., including the Florida Panhandle, across California, and Connecticut. Through her work and travels, she has developed a passion for understanding others’ points of view so that she can better drive collaboration – and it shows in the complex projects Brandi helps facilitate today.

One of her favorite aspects of working at Manta Ray Consulting is the variety of work environments involved.  Manta Ray’s consultants frequently work onsite at remote client locations and travel between sites to support projects – something that Brandi’s previous experience makes her uniquely prepared for.

“It’s a wonderful change of scenery, and Manta Ray’s community is so supportive – you always have a network and support system to reach out to solve a client’s challenges,” she said.