The 2020 Women Leaders in Technology: Joy Walton

"Even as an accounting undergrad, understanding how data was used and how it fit into a larger financial or payroll system was interesting to me," Walton says. "I enjoyed helping people understand the technology and translate their needs for our programmers. It has been—and continues to be—rewarding to help a business identify a challenge and use technology to help address their challenges and improve their business." 

Today she is Managing Director in Huron's education business where she says she enjoys many things about the work she does, including being able to apply her business knowledge to something new as technology is constantly evolving. 

"I also enjoy working with our Huron team and our clients to help navigate the transformation journey that takes place when you put in a new technology solution. Being able to work with our clients to take an idea on paper through a go live is a fantastic feeling," Walton says. "To be a part of that journey with a client and to see how technology can really open doors for opportunity is inspiring."

Walton says she considers the way the firm has grown and built the team over the years is one of the accomplishments she's most proud of. "Growing our team and seeing so many people learn a technology that has tremendous impact for our clients has been incredibly rewarding," she says. "We have many members of our team that may not have anticipated working in technology in the way that they do, but once they realize how enabling and helpful it can be to our clients and their stakeholders, they end up loving it. It's very exciting to help each member of our team unlock their potential and grow in their own experience and confidence in using technology."

Every day, Walton says, she works with clients that are focused on improving the world around them through the use of technology, which she finds incredibly inspiring. There continues to be a significant opportunity to help clients modernize their operations and navigate technology shifts as they move off their legacy systems. 

"There are so many elements to technology transitions—the software, the organization, their people—and it really motivates me that Huron looks at technology across the entire transformation journey," she says. "This enables us to better understand how we can bring different resources forward to help our clients not only think about whether they are configuring the tool in the right way, but also, and more importantly, take the tools and data to help improve their daily operations and support their academic and research missions."

What does winning the Women Leaders in Technology award mean to you?

Walton: "As someone who came from an accounting background to now leading some of the largest technology projects in higher education, I hope this recognition inspires more women, especially those who didn't begin their careers in a technical field, to realize that if you follow your passion, you truly can do anything."