Clocked In / Clocked Out: Liz Parker

Project coordination. Team-first energy. A complicated relationship with heights.

Liz Parker goes by Parker.

At NTD, she is part of the project coordination team, helping manage the details that keep work moving: work orders, information sheets, city correspondence, supplier communications, and the steady stream of questions that come with supporting multiple project managers.

That is a lot of moving pieces, especially when you join the company in the middle of its busiest season.

Good thing Parker likes details.

Earlier in her career, Parker worked in project coordination. She later spent five years supervising back-load and unload operations at UPS, where she enjoyed the work and the people but eventually decided the overnight schedule was no longer the right fit.

She was ready for a change, but she was not looking to give up the parts of work that mattered to her. She still wanted to contribute. She still wanted to be part of a team. She just wanted a career that left a little more room for life outside the job.

When a friend connected her with NTD, Parker saw an opportunity to return to project coordination with a new perspective.

Then came the interview.

Parker met with Evyn and Billy, and the energy in the room immediately stood out. She felt welcomed, liked the environment, and left the conversation genuinely excited about the possibility of joining the team. She also appreciated NTD’s history as a company founded by a woman.

In Parker’s words, the opportunity felt like it could be “a win-win for both parties.”

That is a pretty good way to begin a new chapter.

Clocked In

Clocked in, Parker is organized, detail-oriented, and not afraid to ask questions.

That last part matters. Mechanical construction comes with a lot to learn: new terminology, different suppliers, project-specific requirements, internal processes, work orders, correspondence, and the everyday details that help project managers and field teams stay aligned.

Parker does not pretend to know something she has not learned yet. She asks. She listens. She takes good notes. Once someone shows her how something works, she is ready to take it from there.

Her goal is straightforward: help lighten the load for NTD’s project managers.

Project coordination is not always the most visible part of the work. That is kind of the point.

Work orders do not organize themselves. Information sheets do not track down their own missing details. Supplier communication does not magically land with the right person at the right time. Behind every project manager trying to keep several jobs moving is a long list of tasks that still need to be completed accurately and followed through to the end.

That is where Parker wants to contribute.

Her previous operations experience also makes sense in this environment. Running a demanding loading and unloading operation required organization, communication, and the ability to keep a team moving while a lot was happening at once.

The industry is different now. The coordination mindset is familiar.

Coming into NTD during a busy season meant there was no long, quiet runway. There were active projects, PMs with full plates, suppliers to learn, and plenty of information moving in different directions.

Parker’s response has been simple:

Ask the question. Write down the answer. Learn the process. Help the team.

Because sometimes the best way to make a project manager’s job easier is to make sure the details do not become loose ends.

Clocked Out

Clocked out, Parker is usually doing one of three things:

Spending time with Mila, her rescue dog.

Playing a sport.

Or finding an activity that would make most people reconsider their definition of a relaxing weekend.

Parker plays kickball and sand volleyball. She enjoys traveling, grilling, sitting on a patio with friends, and visiting smaller beach towns where the pace is slower and the sun is usually involved.

She is especially drawn to places like Puerto Vallarta, San Pancho, and Saint Lucia. Her best friend lives on a sailboat in Saint Lucia, so some visits include time on the water—and occasionally taking a turn at the wheel.

“Anything with the wind in my face, I love,” Parker said.

Which brings us to her relationship with heights. Parker is afraid of them.

Naturally, she has responded by going skydiving, bungee jumping, free-falling, parasailing, paragliding, cliff jumping, and cliff diving.

Most people manage a fear of heights by staying closer to the ground. Parker prefers exposure therapy with a waiver.

Her first major cliff jump happened in Maui. After climbing to the top, she became so scared she considered going back down. There was just one problem: the route was not designed for retreat.

So she jumped.

That experience became the beginning of a pattern. Parker still feels the fear, but she likes testing herself against it. When she reaches the point where there is no practical way backward, she focuses on the next move and goes.

Honestly, that tracks.

Returning to project coordination required a decision. Joining a new company during its busiest season required another one. Learning a new mechanical environment requires the willingness to ask questions, accept that you will not know everything on day one, and keep moving anyway.

Organized enough to keep the details straight.

Curious enough to ask the question.

Adventurous enough to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Parker should fit in just fine.

Watch Parker’s full Clocked In / Clocked Out conversation to hear more about her path back into project coordination, what made NTD feel like the right team, and the adventures she takes on after the workday ends.