VALBRIDGE BLOG
Employee Spotlight: Molly Thompson
April 28, 2023
Title: Research Team Lead
Date: April 28, 2023
VPA Office: Valbridge Property Advisors | Minneapolis-St. Paul
Employee background:
Prior to joining Valbridge in November 2021, I first worked as a food safety microbiologist for five years, then transitioned to a sterilization microbiologist for medical devices for 10 years.
What is your title and what do you do at Valbridge?
I am the Research Team Lead at the Minneapolis-St. Paul office. I train new analysts on the pre-production portion of appraisal reports, edit, and troubleshoot template problems/questions, and am the go-to person for all things V-AMS and Datappraise for the office. I also help with projects as well as proofreading reports.
How did you become a part of Valbridge?
Short answer, I was looking for a career change and Nathan Hansen at the Minneapolis-St. Paul office just happens to be my brother.
My previous job was very demanding and high-stress, coupled with my husband’s equally demanding job and raising two young kids during the COVID lockdown era, as a family we needed a change. After mulling over our options, a quick text was sent to Nathan asking if there was room for a part-time/flexible role for me at Valbridge, he said yes, and I jumped at the opportunity.
What are your specialty areas?
All things V-AMS and having the patience to figure out how the templates work in relationship with V-AMS and Datappraise.
What are some of the most interesting projects you've worked on at Valbridge?
My favorite and most satisfying project was getting our office on board with using the Valbridge templates. When I started at Valbridge, our office was using Frankenstein versions of these templates and I had to learn how the templates worked and “talked” with Datappraise. After countless hours of learning the process and trial and error, it all came to together. Seeing the Word template pull data seamlessly from the web and Excel was so satisfying. In the end, those hours spent going through each link and intricacy help us troubleshoot when issues arise.
What do you like most about working at Valbridge?
First the people, second the work, and third great work-life balance. Originally, I was just looking for a slower pace, flexible position so I could manage kids and COVID, but I found great people who are passionate and excited about their work, and that energy is contagious.
Additional information:
My husband Andy and I live just outside of St. Paul and are busy raising our two kids (7 and 5), a cranky old cat, and our newest addition, a golden retriever puppy. We love spending time with our friends and family and trying to keep the kids busy with activities to tire them out!