Raija Suomela is a Project Consultant with Lean East who believes that process change that engages all levels of an organization empowers employees and develops future leaders. She has 10 years of experience in a variety of roles as a Business Analyst and Scientist supporting research and development operations. Raija has championed lab operations improvements and IT systems changes in key roles for multiple project teams, and received Awards of Excellence from Merck & Co. She has a deep understanding of documenting work processes and project requirements and is committed to supporting improvement processes and leading project teams through change.
Raija earned a BS degree in Biochemistry with honors from Hartwick College. She was awarded a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) position and the Freedman Prize for Student-Faculty Collaborative Research. Raija received Six Sigma training and has employed Lean tools and techniques to improve outcomes and is also an active community volunteer.
Testimonials about Raija:
- “Raija has some unique skills that cross science and technology. She has excellent skills in digging into the details, and asking great questions to get at the root cause of issues. She also has developed very strong analytic skills as a business analyst, and is able to establish requirements even when the users have incongruent requests, by bringing about a collaborative approach.”
- Raija… “has also developed a good sense of establishing priorities for the project and can see the big picture solution. She is of course also able to work with the details and deal with complex problems very effectively.”
- “Diligent with attention to detail. Raija is hard working and competent. An absolute asset to her employer and fellow employees.”
- Raija’s… “sharp mind, good people skills, and strong communications skills make her an excellent business analyst.”
- “I have met literally thousands of business analysts over my career. Raija is one of the brightest, and with a solid background in science can tackle some unique project areas. This is just one area of her competency though, and her ability to perform is more about the ability to handle complexity and large critical projects. She can be a very valuable asset to any team, and from my experiences with her in discussing BA challenges, I do not hesitate to recommend her completely. She is a professional and a very intelligent and personable individual.”
