Mick Thornton

I’m a program manager and trainer based out of the Eastside, and I’ve built a career around one idea: technology and data should work for people, not the other way around.

By day, I run talent development programs centered on data collection, architecture, and analysis — the kind of work that keeps the people side of an organization running smoothly. By connecting learning, business, and HR data, I’ve helped drive a 10% increase in employee retention across select departments. My real job is making sure the technical side never gets in the way of the human side. Whether I’m designing a training program or walking someone through Power BI for the first time, my job is making the complex feel obvious.

I teach and build with tools across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem — SharePoint, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI — as well as SQL Server, data modeling, LMS and LXP platforms, and a solid chunk of digital marketing, including SEO. I like working at the intersection of technical depth and human clarity. Lately, I find myself gravitating toward teams that want to go AI-first but haven’t quite figured out the roadmap yet — that gap between ambition and execution is exactly where I do my best work.

My background is in education (Missouri State, BS Ed), and that foundation shapes everything — I think in terms of how people actually learn, not just what needs to be covered. I’ve layered that with project management credentials, Microsoft Office Specialist certification, and a graduate certificate in internet marketing from USF.

I’ve been recognized for this work a few times over the years — including Presidential Excellence Awards from both Liberty Mutual and Safeco — but honestly, the metric I care most about is whether someone walks away from a session or a program actually able to do something they couldn’t before.

That’s the whole point.