Life at OPENLANE Women’s History Month Edition: Q&A with Shannon Feyka, Program Manager

We’re wrapping up Women’s History Month with a bonus Waybuilder feature. From fresh grad to Program Manager, learn how Shannon Feyka has thrived through supportive OPENLANE leadership, her favourite part of Women’s History Month and more.

What has your journey at OPENLANE looked like? 

So I started here fresh out of college. After about five years, I moved into my first supervisor role. A few years later, I became a manager at our contact center.

What’s one thing you’re most proud of during your time here?

The breadth of projects that I’ve been able to work on with. There is so much variety in the different types of projects I get to touch.

What do you like the most about working at OPENLANE? 

The supportive leadership. There’s some changes I wanted to make to my role because I thought they would help drive efficiency. So I went to my leader and they were totally for it.

What’s a piece of advice for newcomers to the company?

Introduce yourself to someone new. A lot of the success that I’ve had at OPENLANE is because I know a lot of people within the organization that know a lot more than I do. Not everyone knows everything, so it’s important to surround yourself with a network where you can ask questions.

What do you like most about your role? 

The challenge. There aren’t a lot of people who love drinking from the firehose. I feel like that’s what I’m constantly doing.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you personally? 

I’m always really proud of Women’s History Month because it’s a chance to showcase all the strong women around you. It’s a chance to show our differences and celebrate them. 

What is your favorite part of celebrating it? 

Connection. That’s how we get to share our stories, relate to each other and feel empowered. 

Tell us about the work that Women@OPENLANE does and the importance of this group to you. 

We have monthly sessions where we bring in speakers — just all types of successful women. We also do coffee connection sessions where we get to hangout, collaborate and celebrate our wins. I think one of the most important aspects of Women@OPENLANE is it showcases our diversity. It gives folks who wouldn’t have as much visibility to other female leaders within the org, a tool to discover them.