Meet Scot Ecker, making significant impacts in education - first in Wisconsin, then across the country.

What is your name and current position?
Scot Ecker, Senior Analytics Advisor

How long have you been employed at Forecast5™?
I've been at Forecast5 for about 2 1/2 years. Prior to working here,I was the CFO of a private college in Wisconsin, as well as a K-12 public school business official.

What office are you based out of?
I work primarily with clients in Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington. I'm based out of our downtown Milwaukee, WI office.

Why did you join Forecast5?
My dad was my math teacher and later became a principal and superintendent in Wisconsin. After finishing my graduate degree, I was looking for a job that would combine my business degree in an education setting. He told me about school business manager jobs. From there I worked for Wisconsin schools for 16 years prior to joining Forecast5. I joined Forecast5 because I love statistics and analytics, and I wanted to make an impact at a broader level than a single school district. I had previously been a client, and I knew the culture was something that would fit with my values.

What is the most interesting or favorite part of your job?
I like learning about each state's uniqueness, special challenges and culture. I love when I can solve a problem or create a report that is useful to the whole state. Nothing beats when a client sees me at a conference or workshop, greets me warmly and tells me I was able to help them with something.

What are some cool projects you’ve seen our clients do with F5 products?
The state of Washington went through a massive funding restructure. Many of our clients in Washington were able to use 5Cast™ and 5Sight™ to model the impacts of the new funding formula. What had been marketed as a significant state funding increase, wasn't so, and our clients were able to use our visuals to help their school boards understand.

What is your favorite movie/book/music?
I like alternative music and really like seeing live shows. My favorite books include Catcher in the Rye, Replay, and anything by Jonathan Tropper. I recently saw the movie Boyhood, and it became an immediate favorite.

Tell us one interesting fact about yourself?
My first career after college was coaching basketball. I spent two years as an assistant coach at Division I, Eastern Kentucky University.

Check out my blog: "How to Create a Budget Forecast in Uncertain Times"