Hello everyone, my name is Julia Carlson and I am an analyst with Ensemble. I’m excited to introduce and highlight one of Ensemble’s newest employees, Pashioune Wilson, who joined our team in March as a business development intern. I sat down and discussed Pashioune’s background, what led her to Ensemble, and what she finds most exciting about her work since joining Ensemble!
Note: Responses have been edited for clarity.
Julia: Can you tell me a little bit about your background before Ensemble?
Pashioune: Before coming to Ensemble, I worked for a non-profit in California that assisted in helping individuals who are minorities apply for and obtain housing loans. This included helping them go through the documentation and approval process. Additionally, I worked at Eversource’s procurement office, working very closely with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office to support diversity efforts within the company. The work I supported focused on helping Eversource to raise its JD power score, address issues of the need for diversity, as well as standard procurement efforts such as reviewing proposals that came through the office.
I am a recent graduate, May 2023, from Morgan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. At Morgan State, I was the Vice President (VP) for the The Black Venture Capital Consortium chapter where I helped promote UXR, and served as the UXR Student Lead. Additionally, I was an ambassador for the Center for Financial Advancement, an organization that works to help HBCU students improve their credit knowledge. I also was a member of the Morgan State Poets, poetry was and remains a peak interest for me.
Julia: What led you to Ensemble?
Pashioune: I was interested in seeing the procurement process from the other end, I have previously reviewed proposals but now I am on the submittal side. I wanted to learn more about where contractors are coming from when they submit a bid. At Eversource, my work was more focused on construction proposals but the process is similar.
Julia: What has been most exciting to you about working in business development?
Pashioune: I have enjoyed learning about past performances and projects Ensemble has done. I enjoy picking what contract opportunity requirements Ensemble is best fit to support.
Julia: What is something you have learned so far from working at Ensemble that you weren’t expecting to learn?
Pashioune: I have learned a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) and the government’s initiatives around AI. The outburst of AI within the government was surprising.
Julia: What do you enjoy doing in your free time, any favorite hobbies?
Pashioune: I love to cook and write poetry. My favorite thing to cook is roasted turkey wings with garlic potatoes and broccoli. I also enjoy slam poetry.
Julia: Any projects you are looking forward to as you move into a full-time role this summer?
Pashioune: I look forward to working on our new contract that focuses on diversity in STEM, which will include work with HBCUs.
