Biography
Professional Experience
Florence Gerber specializes in continuous quality and performance improvement. She taught as an adjunct professor at Concordia University and Warner Pacific University in Portland, Oregon for courses such as operations management, project management, economics and policy, and Lean Six Sigma. Throughout her career, she has also conducted seminars and workshops for adult education. She has served in multiple leadership positions, including roles as Quality Improvement Director, Operations Director, Quality Management Administrator, Quality Advisor, Diversity and Quality Chair, and Senior Project Manager.
While attending Santa Clara University in the Leavey School of Business to earn her Bachelor of Science (BS) in Commerce majoring in management with an emphasis on organizational analysis, she managed a private company. Upon graduation, she worked for Kelly Services, a Fortune 500 company overseeing business accounts to ensure contract and performance compliance. She was privileged to build and maintain professional relationships with top executives and front-line staff leading to her passion for systems thinking and operational improvement. She continued her education and in 2002 earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) specializing in organizational effectiveness. She also acted as an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award and Quality Advisor for various organizations. Her Black Belt Certification in Lean and Green Belt Certification in Six Sigma ascertain her work and credentials in quality by applying these methodologies. With over 25 years of operational experience in various industries, she exerts passion in her profession to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the work environment focusing on the most valuable asset, the employees.
As the founder and principal of Mariano and Associates, LLC she thrives to understand client needs for a lasting partnership and values ethical business practices for integrity. Her business applies evidence-based continuous quality and process improvement methodologies along with organizational behavior to improve and sustain daily operations. She is an Emotional Intelligence Practitioner through Six Seconds and also earned her Brain Profile Certification using advanced assessment tools to strengthen organizational communication, talent, and strategic planning.
She is a dedicated lifelong learner and continues her education in the areas of organizational behavior, leadership, interpersonal skills, diversity, and improvement methodologies to better serve her clients.
She lives her personal and professional life by following her quote, “Improvements start with me...act today.” Perseverance and dedication to improvement are her life philosophy.