Sravanthi Vallampati, DTM

Toastmasters offices held and terms of service (international and regional level):

• 2016-2017 Area Director
• 2017-2018 Division Director
• 2018-2019 Program Quality Director
• 2019-2020 District Director
• 2020-2021 Immediate Past District Director

Toastmasters honors and recognition (international level):

• 2016-2017 Distinguished Area
• 2018-2019 Excellence in Program Quality
• 2019-2020 Silver Award for Paid Clubs during the pandemic
• 2019-2020 Online Ovation Award during the pandemic
• 2019-2020 District 10 Top Education Performer #2
• 2021-2022 District 10 People's Choice Leader Award
• 2022-2023 District 10 Top Education Performer #1
• 2022-2023 District 10 District Director DEI Award
• 2023-2024 District 10 Top Education Performer #1

Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a Board Member:

For over 25 years, I've had the privilege of working across both the corporate and nonprofit landscapes, driven by a commitment to being a continuous learner, a willing collaborator, and an attentive steward of the shared vision I was supporting. My diverse experience in education, technology, and community involvement has helped me develop a unique approach that harmonizes strategic vision, operational excellence, and people-centered leadership.

In my current role as an IT leader at a Fortune 500 company, I focus on the database technology space, with three core areas of responsibility: driving innovation and improving business resilience, building strategic partnerships and enabling business integration, and supporting leadership development and organizational transformation. To meet the evolving needs of our business, I lead initiatives that leverage AI and cloud to enhance operational excellence and self-service capabilities. I partner with architects to develop and implement robust disaster recovery strategies, all while fostering a culture of continuous learning and proactive response to change. In the data space, as in other critical areas, our success depends on maintaining strategic awareness of market and regulatory dynamics so as to limit risk exposure and ensure security, cost efficiency, and compliance.
My most recent work included creation of Merger & Acquisition Playbooks to integrate data, technologies, teams, and processes across newly acquired companies. This work was about unifying different cultures under a shared mission, ensuring we captured the best of what each organization brought to establish a scalable, resilient foundation for the future. While the project took a little longer to complete, it taught our teams the value of due diligence – to process and people – and perseverance, especially in building consensus and collaborating for win-win. Alongside technical leadership, my passion pursuits which leverage my Toastmasters’ learning fully, are preparing opportunity-ready and brand-aware leaders through coaching and facilitating Core and Courageous Conversations. These unique offerings promote understanding of workplace policies and standards, and engender honest dialogue on ethics, compliance, bias, and belonging.
Ultimately, whether I'm implementing a complex tech strategy or promoting inclusivity, my focus remains the same: mindfully connecting the strategic dots to ensure long-term sustainability and meaningful impact. It's this blend of technical rigor, operational clarity, and passion for people that I'm eager to bring to the Board.

What experience do you have in strategic planning?

Strategy and execution became second nature to me as I navigated a new environment three decades ago. The work of volunteering offered a tangible, low-risk, high-reward environment for an immigrant like me to learn, grow, and assimilate through connections and community. It was here that I realized that the process of figuring out where we were, where we wanted to go, and how we would get there was shaping my professional capabilities. I quickly began building a network and gaining practical experience in the core components of strategic work: visioning, budgeting, organizing, assessing risk, and understanding communication and leadership styles.
Today, as I work on high stakes’ initiatives where I actively employ horizon thinking to adapt solutions to scale, I still carry those early lessons with me. When one of my first large projects necessitated a deep dive into assessing our analytics tool stack, I applied the first tenet I had learned in the community: putting the voice of the customer at the heart of the solution. The thought of proposing a technology-agnostic strategy was daunting at first, yet I was able to get the right project and leadership resources involved, address stakeholder concerns, get buy-in, and help over 16,000 users visualize their unmet needs.

Building on the learning, I spearheaded the foundational strategy for the IT Service Desk's inaugural chatbot implementation, positioning the initiative as a key driver for operational efficiency and enhanced business agility. This complementary avenue to customer service came at a time when average call handletimes were highest they had ever been and time to propose it as an experiment and implement required a swift cost benefit analysis and subject matter expert partnership across several enterprise functional groups. Key projected benefits included a notable decrease in average wait and handle times, freeing up agents for complex issues, and materially elevating the overall customer experience through instant, 24/7 self-service capabilities.

As a Delivery Manager responsible for rollout of new product features that impact books of business across states and territories, I worked lockstep with Product Managers to coordinate releases of new product features based on market assessments, compliance requirements, advertising timelines, and profitability projections. In my current role in the database technology space, we just concluded a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis to plan our themes and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for 2026, an approach that has kept us in good stead, giving us time to plan and prepare, and pivot to mitigate the unexpected.

Strategizing for optimization and future success is a continuous process that challenges us to understand both the big picture and the details in front of us. My ability to learn from and build upon each experience to translate vision into actionable plans for teams to set realistic goals, assess risks, allocate resources, and drive results positions me to contribute meaningfully to the strategic direction of Toastmasters International at the Board level.

What experience do you have in the area of finance?

In my current role within Enterprise Database Services, I provide input and/or oversight on small and large spends in the following areas:

- Optimizing CapEx/OpEx: firm/flex budgets, license true-ups, unified support contracts with our technology vendors and offshore support teams, forecasts for technology upgrades, cost savings from removing technology and process debt, CBAs for new and enhancement initiatives, etc.
- Continuous learning: conferences, training, certifications, etc.
- Rewards and Recognition: Performance bonuses, promotions, special recognition, etc.

As a nonprofit board member and advisor, past and present, I participate in discussions, vote on decisions, and chair initiatives to review and reform current financials, or propose new allocations. An example of a significant initiative I led was with the nonprofit North South Foundation to reform scholarship norms and ensuing financial benefits that had not been revised in over 35+ years. The benefit’s real value and purchasing power were significantly eroded by inflation, especially since college tuition and related costs have historically risen much faster than the overall inflation rate.

As someone who was a data analyst once and is a decision-maker now, I have deep reverence for data. I recognize how a board member with fiduciary responsibility does not simply read the numbers, but sees them through the lenses of risk, exposure, and loss. I will carry the data discipline I have developed over the years to benefit our Board work.

What experience do you have in developing policies?

During my tenure in Product Management at Progressive Insurance, I was responsible for delivery of Rate Revisions that are reliant on regulatory reviews of changes to insurance premium rates. One of the significant events was when I secured our auto insurance book of business in a key state by leading a time-sensitive compliance project. This involved establishing and contracting with a third-party geocoding vendor to solve a premium accuracy issue. Working with Legal and business mentors, I gained foundational expertise in vendor risk policy, specifically in defining risk tiering, financial stability checks, Data Processing Agreements (DPAs), and onboarding & exit strategies aligned with stringent compliance requirements.

Since then, I've invested in strengthening my acumen in the area of standards and policy, and applied it to internal audits, PCI compliance projects, hiring and DEI best practices, data and information governance, and quarterly SOX audit responses. Currently, I am focused on understanding responsible AI governance, data privacy, and algorithmic bias to advise on efforts to incorporate AI into our everyday operations to customize customer experience, improve productivity, and advance creative problem solving among others. My entire tenure in the data space reinforces my desire to diligently fulfill the Board's fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, and confidentiality.

What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?

My leadership journey is a beautiful quilt of stories of celebration, humble inquiry, continuous learning, adaptability, and willing collaboration.

I learned that trusting those we work with, being open to constructive dialogue, sharing responsibility and accountability, and understanding the duties of our position/role make for a great start to leadership of any nature. I also learned and appreciated that getting a great start does not guarantee movement, movement does not necessarily mean progress, and progress must serve as a celebration and a lesson, so we can look to the future with studied confidence.

I believe that we all grow through our leadership experiences. The lessons we learn and share catalyze our collective wisdom. I look forward to sharing my lessons and learning from everyone.

Some lessons that have challenged my assumptions, clarified my curiosity, and refined my thinking are as follows.

- Smile, it gives hope. Hope fuels vision.
- We lead ourselves first.
- When in doubt, ask.
- Due diligence is not an option.
- Board leadership is more than just oversight.
- Be steadfast on vision and flexible on details.
- Meet people where they are. Not everyone knows the path, and some may not be able to walk.
- To protect and preserve, we must be willing to pivot.
- Open-minded optimism and hard work make for smart progress.
- Board culture thrives on mutual trust, transparency, and tenacity.
- Leaders need help. We must learn to ask for help.
- We are strongest when we know we stand for something and know why.
- It’s not about championing my idea but synthesizing diverse thoughts and building consensus.
- Collaboration is key. The sooner we understand this, the faster we can get to work.
- Creating a safe and brave space where all voices are heard and valued builds cohesion.
- Diverse perspectives are necessary to avoid the risk of group think.
- We all have unconscious bias. We can help one another understand and manage them.
- Asking for feedback and being open to receiving it refine us as individuals and groups.
- If your heart is not in it, your head and hands can’t be deployed fully.
- Everyone needs mentors.
- True growth takes time. Patience is part of the learning.
- We will never know if we don’t try.

What experience and key strengths would you bring to the Board of Directors?

I grew up in India in a home of service professionals – my dad was a doctor, and my mom was an attorney, educator, a nurse, and a social worker. Both mom and dad were deeply involved in the community. Growing up was fun. I remember being their helping hand or a fascinated observer as they organized events for the Rotary, collected donations for flood or famine victims, conducted free health camps, sponsored education for the economically challenged, or simply listened and comforted. In doing so, they brought endless joy to themselves and to everyone around them. They fully embraced humanity and helped my brothers and me do the same. Connections, conversations, and community were our trifecta.

I have lived in the US for over 30 years now. Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, but when I left India for the first time, I was a bit lost, overwhelmed. I did not have an ounce of courage to even entertain the idea that someone would hire a non-native speaker of English to teach the language, so I promptly abandoned it. I jumped on the IT bandwagon and made a great career out of it. Yet, every day, I coach, teach, facilitate, and show up as an ally. My involvement in the community is not an interest, it’s a need – to connect, to learn, to understand, and to appreciate. I have developed cultural competence with my boots on the ground every chance I got, and live it through my experiences - locally, via my travels around the world, and conscious engagement in meaningful work. Joining Toastmasters in 2013 took that joy, that connection, to the next level. What I have discovered through Toastmasters is that our voice is our currency, and how we use it will determine the kind of experiences we will have. My voice is mine to own and hone, and in honoring it, I learned to honor that of others. It helped me reflect even more deeply on my childhood and how mom and dad used their voices to amplify the good they set out to share, and how in doing so, they helped others, too.

I provide this context because it has shaped my thinking, my being. Positivity, my top strength, and passion, my primary advantage, stem from those roots. My desire to connect with others, know and understand them, and be part of their journeys is what informs my journey, as a person, professional, and if fortunate, a future board member of our amazing organization.

As an IT professional for over 27 years, I have worked in a variety of fields. From healthcare innovation to auto insurance, I have brought technical strength, business acumen, and a visionary approach to working with others to produce positive outcomes. I am curious, I ask questions, and I love collaborative ideation and problem solving. This energy helps harness our diverse perspectives and moves us from simple consensus to collective action, keeping the focus on the member's transformative journey.

Over 10 years ago, I was introduced to the concept of working from our gifts to amplify good - the strengths-based approach. Since then, I have worked with several professionals who take the approach of operating from their strengths (DISC, StrengthsFinder) while working to improve their areas of improvement. My innovative approach to ideation and problem-solving helps me look past current constraints into a future of possibilities. Combined with my professional and nonprofit experience, it allows for leading with vision and executing with courage. The traits of a connector in me paired with the Arranger and Positivity strengths, mean I instinctively build cohesion. I ensure every Director—regardless of region, background, or style—feels heard, respected, and valued. I create a Board environment that embraces different perspectives for the common good. My fiduciary anchors are my Belief and Responsibility strengths, the foundation of my commitment. This aligns perfectly with my Cautious Thinker (DISC) style, ensuring that passion is grounded in prudence. This is the expertise I will bring to my work in the finance and governance areas.
I see the Board as the ultimate example of the Toastmasters mission. I will bring my experience and strengths to work with others to make our envisioned future a reality.

Why do you want to serve as an International Officer/Director?

I see myself as a lifelong member of Toastmasters because it did more than teach me to speak—it transformed my perception of myself and the ever-evolving world around me. It gave me the tools, the community, and the self-confidence to lean into my potential and help others do the same.

Setting out to empower people to achieve their full potential by becoming more effective communicators and leaders is an extraordinary mission.
Fulfilling that mission demands the absolute best of our leaders within Toastmasters International’s Board of Directors. Being part of such a passion-forward group whose collective values, perspectives, and talents shape the future of Toastmasters excites me. It is an opportunity to learn, work hard and together, and create meaningful impact. I believe my diverse experiences in education, technology, and community involvement, both tactical and strategic, have given me a strong foundation that would be valuable at the board level. My personal strengths of passion, innovation, and positivity would be welcome complements to the way we work and achieve.

Serving as an International Director for Toastmasters is a privilege awarded to those among us who connect deeply with the vision of our organization and are committed to moving it forward in sustainable ways. Now more than ever, our stewardship to honor the foundational past, to ensure current excellence, and to trailblaze a path into the future is critical.

My desire to serve as an International Director is not merely a professional aspiration; it is a personal commitment to perpetuate the transformation that Toastmasters International sparked in my own life. I’d be honored if afforded an opportunity to serve and experience the superlative emotional reward of helping members worldwide experience the magic of Toastmasters.

What volunteer experience do you have outside of Toastmasters?

My commitment to civic life is rooted in a belief that equitable access to opportunity is created at the intersection of leadership, education, and community support.

My nonprofit (local and national) work spans education, inter-cultural cohesion, empowerment/professional development, and rehabilitation support for the homeless – areas that help me grow through understanding diverse human needs while co-creating opportunities to help us all reach our potential. It’s where I get to fully utilize the voice Toastmasters has helped me find and develop to make a difference.

- Education: Board Member at Leadership Influencing Teen Empowerment and Past Board Member and Language and Public Speaking Coach at North South Foundation.
- Inter-cultural Cohesion - Volunteer and Youth Leadership Ambassador bridging cultures, generations, and cultures at IFUSA
- Empowerment/Professional Development - Board Member at Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio (AAIWO) and Advisor at Northeast Ohio Women in Technology (NEOWIT).
- Rehabilitation Support: Volunteer/Advocate for outreach initiatives for the homeless through Humble Design, Family Promise, and Sub-Zero Mission.

Have you worked with other Boards of Directors outside of Toastmasters? If so, describe your experience.

Working with members of Boards has strengthened my belief that when committed volunteer leaders come together to make a difference, impact is amplified, and friendships are forged.

During my tenure as a board member, I collaboratively navigated the complex transition of North South Foundation from a founder-led to a board-led organization, establishing robust governance structures and policies for sustainable growth. This experience, alongside my roles fostering inter-cultural cohesion at IFUSA, advancing professional development at AAIWO and NEOWIT, and driving rehabilitation support at Humble Design, Family Promise, and Sub-zero Mission, underscores my ability to collaborate effectively with diverse board members, align on strategic objectives, and ensure fiduciary excellence across varied nonprofit missions.

I see the board as a high-functioning, cross-disciplinary team that thrives on a blend of corporate rigor and mission-driven service. While each of my engagements was and continues to be different, the shared vocabulary that moves us towards our vision endures. I am grateful for the opportunities to bring my experience from both professional and community service to stabilize and modernize diverse governing bodies.

In your opinion, what are Toastmasters International’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?

An empowered member is at the center of our work. Our envisioned future of a thriving and diverse global community is possible only when we collectively organize our efforts to modernize and globalize the experience while maintaining financial and technological integrity in a rapidly changing world. While change is inevitable, leaving us with more questions that we can answer at a given moment, whether about the role of AI or our ways of working in an increasingly virtual culture, I believe we must continue to focus on club excellence, member engagement and achievement, global awareness, and operational effectiveness and plan our objectives to effectively address that focus.

With that as context, I see our work, framed by our core mission and vision, fall into three main objectives:

1. Achieving Global Equity & Expansion - to showcase global representation and equity in the way our members receive and live the Toastmasters experience. We must find ways to ensure that resources, support, and technology are delivered effectively and equitably to members across all regions, transcending diverse geopolitical and economic conditions.
My perspective as an immigrant, a global citizen, a professional, and a nonprofit board member with proven experience in building consensus, implementing sustainable governance, and driving change across diverse populations will augment our efforts to achieve global equity and expansion.

2. Driving Operational Modernization & Efficiency - to adapt to the hybrid world, shifting expectations around online learning, and the potential of new technologies. We must create increased value for members by providing innovative tools and efficient, standardized processes (e.g., evolving Base Camp, streamlining club officer duties and training). This will also include exploring alternative revenue streams beyond dues payments to fund global expansion and technology development

My experience in providing oversight on technology strategy and spending, efficiency frameworks, and innovation will enhance quality and cost control for new investments and process improvements alike.

3. Strengthening Governance & Risk Management - to mitigate the risk of data breaches, fraud, and legal non-compliance that can increase exponentially as we rely more on technology to scale our operations and reach.

My ability to collaborate to bring rigorous and transparent oversight to our operations will be an asset to our organization that relies on public trust and dues revenue. My active training to understand responsible AI governance and bias mitigation will allow me to proactively develop policies that protect Toastmasters from legal and reputational harm as it inevitably integrates AI into training, communication, or platform features. My multi-faceted nonprofit service instills a deep sense of fiduciary responsibility, ensuring every financial and strategic decision is viewed through the lens of loyalty and care for the long-term benefit of the member and the organization.

Additional information about candidate:

Continuing Education (Non-Toastmasters):
- ADKAR Change Management - Leader/Practitioner
- Agile & Lean Methodologies - Trained Advocate
o Agile Place Champion
- AI for IT Leaders
- Business Acumen for Senior Leaders - Continuing Quarterly Leadership Training

Professional and Civic awards you have earned that you are most proud of, and explain what the award was given for (three or less):
- The Blue Vase Go-getter Award - this was in recognition of a creative approach to bring Microsoft Business Intelligence technologies to Progressive Insurance. It was my first major project almost 18 years ago, with a significant lift of planning and moving 16 K+ users off another reporting platform. I had to stir up my inner go-getter to develop a smart strategy to not just ideate, but to collaborate with over 40 groups across all business units.
- The DEI / ERG Council’s Most Innovative Award – To proactively address potential decline in workplace engagement as we shifted to remote work and social isolation when the pandemic hit, my fellow board members of the Network for Empowering Women Employee Resource Group (ERG), HR and I worked on my proposal to create a variety of resources and events including Panel Discussions focused on mental and emotional health, podcasts to highlight stories of connection and courage, Working Woman Wednesday series to celebrate everyday resilience, Night Without a Bed to create awareness about homelessness, Allyship series to showcase intentionality in our support of one another, etc.

How has your Toastmasters experience most benefitted you both personally and professionally?

- My experience with Toastmasters has been nothing short of extraordinary! The experiential learning approach that focuses on listening, practice, and feedback in a genuinely supportive environment has transformed my belief in myself – one word, one story, one connection at a time. I was able to refine my fluency of thought and word, meet people where they were, and adapt to situations more willingly, swiftly. In parallel, I was encouraged by the transformation it was creating in others and the gifts it was helping them discover, as it did for me. The multiplier effect could not be on better display than in the Toastmasters community.
- Professionally, I am able to extend the learning to all that I do outside the meeting room - empathy, listening and critical thinking skills, giving and receiving feedback, organizing content keeping the audience in mind and delivering it with confidence, etc. I mentor and offer presentation coaching to interns, analysts, technical and leadership consultants, community volunteers and leaders, as well as facilitate events, panel discussions, and workshops. I continue to receive feedback that I am calm even when the topics are sensitive, and the situations are charged and can receive and respond to questions with presence of mind and objectivity.

How could someone benefit from Toastmasters personally and professionally?

- The beauty of the Toastmasters program is that it is self-directed and self-paced, which gives every member the opportunity to grow in self-awareness and experience progress in a way that is comfortable to them.
- Whether it’s as simple as expressing an opinion or sharing an idea, or appearing for an interview or delivering a keynote, resources are plenty. The Pathways program is a great start, complemented by peer and mentor support, as well as several published resources.