Marcia A. Daniel
Chief Client Officer, Ferrilli
📍Haddonfield, New Jersey, USA
If you could describe yourself in one word, what would that be and why?
Experienced; I had the opportunity to work as a college / higher ed executive for 31 years prior to retiring and joining the world of educational technology. There is seldom a day I am not interacting with a client, or perspective client, and my ability to understand their stories, issues and sagas define who I am. My past experiences clearly allow Ferrilli to gain many opportunities to further our clients missions.
Pledge 1% provides a framework for businesses to do good. Do you think it’s important for today’s corporate leaders to prioritize social impact? If so, why?
Servant Leadership has to be represented on many levels. Pledge 1% provides the opportunity for a business/ company to meaningfully support their charity by giving a part of the company. In Ferrilli's case our clients, higher education, are our chosen charity. We never miss an opportunity to proudly state we are members of Pledge 1%.
Do you give back to the community with your team and work? If so, what does this look like?
Because our clients are throughout the United States and Canada, we wanted our Pledge 1% to have an equal opportunity to represent all of them. We chose to provide 100 hours of certified cybersecurity counseling to any college or university that has a reported incident, at no cost.
In addition, in 2024 we are adding incidence plan review, monitoring, and testing to our no cost Pledge 1% framework.
What’s the best piece of advice you've ever received?
"Never forget where you came from." It was given by my fraternal grandmother and it was her way of telling me to never be better then anyone else, never talk down to or look down upon anyone.
"Never forget where you came from."
This year’s International Women’s Day themes are focused on investing in women and inspiring inclusion. What can we do to make today’s workplaces more equitable and inclusive for women?
Early in my career I made Dean at twenty -six years old. I quickly realized I was not only the youngest dean in that position in our 58 college system, but I was one of the few women in that role across the state. Too often, there were opportunities to defend, both women and minorities by standing up for the knowledge they possessed and to argue for them to be given a chance. Not a handout, not a title, but a real chance to prove they could do the job.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
It's solid advice, and it's still applicable- if you want to be a leader, be prepared to work as hard or harder than anyone in the organization, admit your mistakes, and maintain your own confidences.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
Both a company, and a personal, goal for me is to oversee the redesign our NPS and CSAT data gathering that will provide tracking for each aspect of our consulting and delivery, contracting and invoicing and helpdesk responsiveness monitoring. This is the ultimate way to listen to and support our clients.
