Jen Cracchiola

About Me - Jen Cracchiola

My name is Jen Cracchiola, and I am a Release Train Engineer in St. Louis, Mo.

My interest in Agile/Scrum began in 2012 when I worked as a Business Analyst at New Balance. After working as a Business Analyst and Release Manager for more than 10 years, I moved into the role of Business Analyst/ScrumMaster at Weissman’s Designs for Dance in 2014.

Embracing Agile/Scrum

At Weissman’s, I gained valuable experience as the company was just beginning to transition from Waterfall to Agile/Scrum. After two quick months and much studying, I attended training to become a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) in March 2015 with Scrum Alliance. I took the test and officially became a CSM. I assumed the role of servant-leader at Weissman’s, where I empowered and coached the development teams on the scrum core values. I also coached our product owners on how to prioritize and manage their backlogs. A small team made up of IT management, including myself, gave numerous presentations to the executive team on our new development practice.

While at Weissman’s, I mentored a junior business analyst and trained her to become a junior ScrumMaster. Since Agile/Scrum was catching on fast, I started mentoring other departments on how to hold daily scrum meetings to solve some communication challenges and chase down impediments.

At Aclara Technologies, I started as a Scrum Master and was promoted to Agile Coach in 2018.  I love what I do.  I really enjoy mentoring other Scrum Masters, Product Owners and an Agile Coach. I enjoy coaching the software teams (10 teams) all over the world in the spirit of relentless improvement.

I am passionate about scrum and learning as much as I can to expand my skills as a true Servant-Leader. I enjoy reading articles and books on Agile, Scrum, as well as maintaining my Kanban board of chores around the home!

Career and Education 

My past professional experience includes working at companies such as Boeing, Charter Communications, and YourTravelBiz.com. I’ve worked as a consultant, business analyst, business process analyst, project manager, release manager, system administrator, and most recently a scrum master. I joined Aclara Technologies as a Scrum Master, then moved on to Agile Coach. I went on to join Linxup as a Scrum Master and Coach in 2020. In 2022 I joined Stifel Financial Corp. as a Release Train Engineer.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from University of Phoenix, with a year completed toward a master’s program. I am certified with the Scrum Alliance as both a Certified Scrum Professional-Scrum Master and Certified Scrum Professional-Product Owner (CSPO).

Personal Interests

I have been married for over 26 years and have two beautiful daughters, ages 19 and 13, and two dogs. My family’s favorite thing to do is travel, particularly to different countries, so we vacation overseas annually. My volunteer roles include St. Rose Philippine Duchesne parish, All Saints Academy at. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, First Lego League and Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.