Marlena Smith-Hamlin

Marlena Smith-Hamlin is HOPE’s Senior Vice President of Data Analytics. In her current role, Marlena is responsible for the planning, implementation, and management of data solutions for business strategies within the organization. Marlena and a team of data analysts enhance business decision making capabilities with the translation of HOPE’s raw data into meaningful, insightful information. The Data and Analytics team supports internal and external stakeholders, including the HOPE Board of Directors, business units, regulators, auditors, and investors.

Marlena joined HOPE in 2016 as a Business Analyst. She was solely responsible for enterprise reporting and data gathering. As a Data Analytics team matured, she helped the team transition to SQL based development, which streamled reporting methodologies. In November 2017, she was promoted to Vice President and has since expanded the team, furthering its mission to be a strategic resource to the company.

Marlena began her career in Information Technology and has worked in various positions within the software development life cycle. She has worked as a software developer, systems analyst, and IT business analyst, with her longest tenure at C Spire Wireless. Her career totals more than 14 years. She is a Computer Science graduate of Jackson State University and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.