Excelling at spreadsheets and design alike at The Tactile Group

Leigh Peele loves two things about her daily work routine: playing with spreadsheets and collaborating with the nicest group of people she said she’s ever had as coworkers.

Peele is a digital project manager for The Tactile Group, a Center City-based software company that designs capitativing digital experiences for local, state and federal agencies. Peele manages ongoing projects for clients including the U.S. Department of Education, the City of Philadelphia and public figures like former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

This isn’t the first time Peele’s career crossed paths with governmental bureaucracy. She studied foreign service at Georgetown University, and in the ‘80s to mid-’90s, she pursued an international programs management job in D.C. and administered a portion of the acclaimed Fulbright Scholarship Program.

Then, Peele moved careers and coasts, landing in California in 1995. She ended up with a receptionist job at an interactive television company and moved up the ranks, introducing her to the digital career space.

Peele returned to the Philadelphia region, where she grew up, and started at The Tactile Group about five and a half years ago. She tells us what it’s been like keeping the award-winning design firm’s projects in a row in the following Q&A.

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What drew you to The Tactile Group?

I was looking for an opportunity to manage small to mid-sized projects. I also liked that The Tactile Group is Black-owned. I am Black and mixed race, so that was just appealing to me. I liked the diversity of the team and the ethos behind their mission and work. Since starting at The Tactile Group, I have gained a real appreciation for their warm, inclusive management style.

Leigh Peele (courtesy photo)

How has The Tactile Group catered to your professional development?

I learn a lot through my hands-on experience at the job. At an earlier company, I worked on city and federal projects, but the work at The Tactile Group was more long-term. My experience with these types of clients has deepened and become more extensive.

Plus, I was hired to be a digital project manager, but what I’m most interested in is content strategy and content management. The management team is currently making an effort to shift things around so I’m doing more of that in the future. I’ll continue to do project management, but they just want to make sure that I am able to incorporate my primary interest.

What excites you about the projects you manage?

It’s really important to Marc Coleman, the president and CEO, and to everybody here that you do work that is designed to help people, and you kind of go above and beyond to design something to make the world a little bit better. That makes the work fulfilling.

What type of person will thrive at The Tactile Group?

Just a genuine person willing to pitch in and do their part.