Sarah K.

Head of Design

Toronto, Ontario, Canada24 yrs 9 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchAI Enabled

Key Highlights

Over 20 years as a Microsoft Certified Trainer.
Led a global community of 22,000 Microsoft Certified Trainers.
Expert in technical education and curriculum design.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a seasoned IT educator with expertise in Microsoft technologies and community management.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Community ManagementTraining DeliveryProgram Development

Other Skills

Business StrategyStakeholder ManagementBusiness PlanningInnovation ManagementProject ManagementStrategic PlanningCommunity DevelopmentProduct ManagementMicrosoft AzureNetwork SecuritySecurityMicrosoft Entra IDAzure SQLMicrosoft CopilotArtificial Intelligence (AI)

About

With a career in IT that began in 1995 and over two decades as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (since 2001), I bring a wealth of experience in technical education, course development, and enterprise learning strategy. I’m a goal-oriented professional known for strong organizational and troubleshooting skills, with a proven track record in communication, project planning, and management. My background includes: 28+ years of hands-on IT experience across diverse environments 20+ years of delivering impactful training as an MCT Expertise in documentation, curriculum design, and instructional delivery A consistent top performer with a passion for driving results and empowering learners I thrive on turning complex concepts into accessible learning experiences and am always eager to collaborate on innovative training initiatives.

Experience

24 yrs 9 mos

Total Experience

3 yrs 6 mos

Average Tenure

6 yrs 2 mos

Current Experience

Microsoft

2 roles

MCT Program Lead

Dec 2024 – Feb 2026 · 1 yr 2 mos · Remote

As MCT Program Lead, I supported and represented a global community of over 20,000 Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) — educators responsible for delivering high‑quality Microsoft training to customers and partners worldwide.
What I Did
Served as a primary voice and advocate for the MCT community, ensuring trainer feedback and real‑world teaching experiences informed program decisions, tools, and policies.
Led and partnered with MCT Community Leads across regions, supporting communications, onboarding, and ongoing engagement to strengthen local and global trainer communities.
Played a key role in the rollout of the new MCT Portal in partnership with Pearson VUE, helping bridge Microsoft and Pearson VUE teams while representing trainer needs, usability concerns, and real‑world program scenarios during the transition.
Designed, communicated, and helped evolve MCT program processes, including eligibility, renewal, benefits, and community operations.
Orchestrated and supported global MCT initiatives and events, including Community Lead Summits, regional meetings, AMAs, and in‑person and virtual engagements.
Acted as a bridge between MCTs, internal Microsoft teams, and partners, aligning trainer needs with Microsoft’s skilling strategy and learning ecosystem.
Provided guidance and clarity to MCTs on program requirements, certifications, tooling, and common challenges, helping trainers succeed and stay compliant at scale.
Championed community‑first communication through the MCT Lounge, shifting information sharing toward transparent, self‑service, and scalable engagement.
Impact
Helped successfully transition MCTs to a new Pearson VUE–backed MCT Portal experience
Strengthened trust between Microsoft, Pearson VUE, and the global MCT community
Improved clarity, communication, and trainer confidence during a major platform change
Elevated the quality and sustainability of Microsoft‑led training worldwide

Program DevelopmentCommunity ManagementCommunity DevelopmentProgram ManagementProduct ManagementTraining Delivery+3

MCT at Microsoft

Mar 2020 – Present · 6 yrs 2 mos · Remote

As the Global MCT Program Lead, I oversee and manage a community of 22,000 Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) worldwide. My role involves creating and implementing innovative strategies to grow and support the MCT community, ensuring they have the tools and resources needed to succeed.
Key Responsibilities:
Community Management: Leading and managing a global network of 22,000 MCTs, fostering a sense of community and collaboration among trainers.
Innovation and Growth: Developing and executing innovative ideas and strategies to expand the MCT community, enhancing engagement and participation.
Support and Development: Providing ongoing support to MCTs, addressing their needs and challenges, and ensuring they have access to the latest training materials and resources.
Tool Management: Overseeing the management of existing MCT tools, ensuring they are effective and user-friendly. Driving the modernization of these tools to meet current and future needs.
Collaboration: Working closely with various stakeholders, including technical teams, to ensure the successful implementation of new initiatives and improvements.
Performance Metrics: Establishing and monitoring key performance indicators to measure the success of community growth and support initiatives.
Social Media Engagement: Grew my social media network from fewer than 100 impressions to over 10,000 in under six months by implementing a consistent and intentional engagement strategy. This included posting regularly with audience-relevant content, actively responding to comments and messages to foster community, leveraging hashtags and tagging to increase visibility, and participating in industry-related discussions to build credibility. My approach emphasized authenticity, consistency, and value-driven interaction, resulting in sustained growth and increased audience engagement.

Business StrategyStakeholder ManagementBusiness PlanningInnovation ManagementProject ManagementStrategic Planning+11

Amazon web services (aws)

AWS Technical Trainer

Jul 2019 – Mar 2020 · 8 mos · Greater Toronto Area, Canada

Cruciallogics

Senior Consultant

May 2019 – Jul 2019 · 2 mos · Greater Toronto Area, Canada

Provide information architecture expertise and SharePoint\o365\Azure expertise and deployment services
Provide expertise in MS Teams and OneDrive for collaboration and information sharing
Design and implement document management and collaboration, data classification, data
retention, rights management
Deploy and Design with Microsoft Teams infrastructure
Technical capabilities to do deployments, configurations, MS Flow, Nintex
Create business process flows associated with document management
Assist Digital transformation, using On-premise technologies such as SCCM, WSUS and Active
Directory & Microsoft Cloud Platforms Azure, Office 365 and Intune etc.
Creating technology roadmaps and proposals for client projects
Presenting client focused solutions and recommendations to clients around Microsoft
technologies
Assist on projects as a technical and deployment expert
Liaising with cross-functional teams to build product & business requirements, collaboratively
developing the best products possible
Maintaining leading edge knowledge of relevant Microsoft technologies and best practices

Global knowledge training

MCT

Oct 2012 – May 2019 · 6 yrs 7 mos

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
MCSA: Cloud Platform
MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure — Certified 2017
MCSA: Windows Server 2016
MCSA: Windows 10
MCSA: Windows Server 2012
MCSA: Windows 8
MCSE: SharePoint 2013
MCITP: SharePoint Administrator 2010
MCSA: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Administrator
MCITP: Server Administrator on Windows Server 2008
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008

Freelance mct

Freelance Microsoft Certified Trainer

Mar 2011 – Sep 2019 · 8 yrs 6 mos

MCT - Deliver Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC)
Training end users on Microsoft products such as Windows 7, SharePoint 2010, SharePoint 2007, SharePoint Designer, InfoPath 2010, Active Directory 2008.
This job also entails that I keep up with my Microsoft certifications.
MCITP: SharePoint Administrator 2010
MCITP: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Administrator
MCITP: Server Administrator on Windows Server 2008
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008

Self-employed

Freelance Information Technology Consultant

Jan 2011 – Mar 2020 · 9 yrs 2 mos · Ontario, Canada

Consulting for small to medium size firms.
Onsite installation and configuration of computer networks.
Remote management of Cloud services. Office365, Azure and Intune.
Working with Windows Server, Azure, AWS, SharePoint, Powershell, Python and JSON.

2008 seacliff farms

BES Systems Administrator

Sep 2007 – Jun 2008 · 9 mos

Analyzing\Maintaining of Microsoft Windows Environment and Blackberry Enterprise Server
Maintenance of Windows 2003 servers.
Maintenance of Microsoft Exchange 2003
Maintenance of Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.1
Building and deploying of Windows XP workstations
Writing and delivering Training of Office applications to greenhouse growers
Projects deployed, building of Terminal Server for external clients. Blackberry application for users to have the ability to Telnet into server for remote monitoring. Deploying and training end users on Microsoft OneNote.

Mars advertising co., inc.

Computer Systems Analyst

May 2005 – Sep 2007 · 2 yrs 4 mos

Analyzing\Maintaining of Microsoft Windows Environment
Project Manager\Coordinator for multiple projects including re-vamp of corporate website, backup strategy for corporate site and remote sites, office move for corporate office and remote office, new inventory system etc.
Working with external clients at maintaining their environments through Neptune Tech Solutions.
Building of Windows 2003 servers.
Administering Cisco VoIP solution across a WAN infrastructure.
Administering on a daily basis of Active Directory and Exchange 2003 environment.
On a daily basis maintaining backup environment for PC and Mac using NetVault and Ultrabac solution. Hardware was 2 x Quantum PX502 in different offices.
Maintaining BlackBerry Server environment with 90 plus handhelds nation wide.
Project Manager for rollout of Directory KIOSK
Project and Technical Lead for RFID project that inventoried all IT equipment
Administering and maintaining SharePoint server 2003\2007. In SharePoint using SMigrate tool to backup and move sites. Creating portals with FrontPage. Creating custom data views, document lists, threads and administering security per portal.
Working with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop for Mars portals and external website
Desktop\Server support with over 300 clients and 50 plus servers.
Basic troubleshooting of Macintosh clients.
Consulting small-mid size companies
Maintaining clients Active Directory\Exchange environments.
Maintaining clients backup infrastructure.
Installing and administering BlackBerry Server infrastructure
Connecting remotely for administration tasks
Going on-site for support issues
Using InDesign and Photoshop for promotional flyers for Neptune Tech Solutions
Creating layouts and concepts using InDesign for Consulting firm Neptune Tech Solutions

2005 - 2007 mars advertising

Project Coordinator

May 2005 – Sep 2007 · 2 yrs 4 mos

Analyzing\Maintaining of Microsoft Windows Environment
Project Manager\Coordinator for multiple projects including re-vamp of corporate website, backup strategy for corporate site and remote sites, office move for corporate office and remote office, new inventory system etc.
Working with external clients at maintaining their environments through Neptune Tech Solutions.
Building of Windows 2003 servers.
Administering Cisco VoIP solution across a WAN infrastructure.
Administering on a daily basis of Active Directory and Exchange 2003 environment.
On a daily basis maintaining backup environment for PC and Mac using NetVault and Ultrabac solution. Hardware was 2 x Quantum PX502 in different offices.
Maintaining BlackBerry Server environment with 90 plus handhelds nation wide.
Project Manager for rollout of Directory KIOSK
Administering and maintaining Sharepoint server 2003\2007. In SharePoint using SMigrate tool to backup and move sites. Creating portals with FrontPage. Creating custom data views, document lists, threads and administering security per portal.
Desktop\Server support with over 300 clients and 50 plus servers.
Basic troubleshooting of Macintosh clients.
Consulting small-mid size companies
Maintaining clients Active Directory\Exchange environments.
Maintaining clients backup infrastructure.
Installing and administering BlackBerry Server infrastructure
Connecting remotely for administration tasks
Going on-site for support issues

Research in motion

2 roles

Senior Technical Support Team Lead\MCT Trainer (Call Center

Sep 2001 – May 2005 · 3 yrs 8 mos

2 years) - RIM
3rd Level support
Working in a call center as 3rd level server support; debugging users Active Directory and Exchange environments.
Project Lead for the 3.5 BETA of BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Conference calls of our current BETA clients for technical support, testing of the BETA software and submitting bugs.
Designed and taught BlackBerry server software support courses to our Technical Support team and Sales\Technical Account Managers.
Due to my MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) status, I also trained our technical department with the MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum) on 3 courses. Implementing and Supporting Windows 2000 Server and Professional, Implementing and Administering Active Directory, and Implementing and Administering Exchange 2000 Server.

Sales\Technical Trainer TL

Jan 2001 – Mar 2005 · 4 yrs 2 mos

Delivering training to Wireless Carriers and customers globally.
Team Leader of a team of 6 trainers.
Technically train Wireless Network Carriers on the BlackBerry Handheld and Server product on email platforms Exchange and Domino.
Carriers that I support are worldwide and therefore I am on the road 75% of my time.
Security course discussing TripleDES, S\MIME and DMZ
Conduct Sales Training for Pre-Sales Account Managers.
BES Test Specialist - RIM
Testing and analyzing software prior to release.
Developed test plans and test documentation, applying quality assurance techniques against client/server Web and wireless applications.
Troubleshoot and investigate defects in software, and enter, track, and maintain defect-tracking reports.
Collaborate with other testers, developers, and management in a team environment, and utilize in-house software testing utilities such as Rationale Robot and scripting to exercise functionality. Analyze and understand test results.

Aurora

Team Lead/Technical Specialist

Feb 2000 – Sep 2001 · 1 yr 7 mos

Aurora
Chum City - Team Lead, upgrading over 100 PC's to Windows 2000.
Team Lead/Technical Specialist for a roll out of Windows 2000 Professional on the desktop.
Maintained project plan using MS Project.
Lead a team of 5 technical specialists training them on using utilities such as Ghost image ware and sysprep.

Aurora bell distribution inc

Project Leader

Feb 2000 – Sep 2001 · 1 yr 7 mos

Project Leader for customized software relocation
Project Leader/Coordinator for Telmax equipment move from Bell Mobility domain to BDI (BellWorld) domain.
Creating of project plan.
Installing and configuring VPN client and RAS on user's laptops.
Documentation on configuring clients for Dial-up access and VPN client.
Maintaining production IBM Netfinity 5500 servers.

Manulife financial

Financial Help Desk Support

Jan 2000 – Jan 2001 · 1 yr

Call Center
First and Second level support for helpdesk for large financial company
Working in a large call center of over 50 support personnel
Supporting users in-house as well as remote users. Using SMS to remote control desktops.
Using Remedy for incident ticketing system
Novell\Microsoft environment using Token Ring as network
Supporting applications such as Lotus Notes, MS Office Suite including MS Project.

Aurora network technologies

Project Lead\Technical Specialist TL

Jan 1999 – Jan 2000 · 1 yr

Orica Explosives - Project Lead, deployment of new systems across North America
Project Lead for a deployment of a North American rollout of Windows NT workstation. Lead a team consisted of 16 technical specialists deploying simultaneously across North America.
Revamping of a project plan and budget with MS Project 2000 that saved the company 20%.
Recruiting of technical team for the deployment.
Training of end users on Lotus Notes and Windows NT workstation.