Get to know CSA Education’s Associate Director of Enterprise Technology, Via Baker, with our updated staff Q&A!
Interviewer: What is your name and role at CSA?
Via: Via Baker; Associate Director, Enterprise Technology
Interviewer: What’s the most helpful piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
Via: One of my early jobs was stocking shelves at a toy store during the holiday season. My shift manager had worked there for years and had seen it all, and as part of the onboarding for the seasonal team, he gave us some advice that I’ve used ever since: “For the kids coming in to buy something, and a lot of the parents too, this is something really important to them, and you’ve got to treat that importance with respect. But also, don’t lose your sense of perspective—it’s a toy store, not a trauma center.”
That’s stuck with me throughout my career in various customer service and user support roles. Maybe it’s the fifth time I’ve heard a question that day, but for the person I’m helping, it’s their first time asking it, and the answer is important to them, so I treat it with respect. And sometimes I catch myself getting a bit too wrapped up in an issue—then I take a step back and say to myself “Hey, what’s really at risk here, and am I responding appropriately? Toy store or trauma center?”
Interviewer: When you aren’t at your desk, where are we most likely to find you?
Via: It’s a three-way toss-up: taking a walk or a hike, making something in the shop or fixing something around the house, or with my nose in some kind of extremely nerdy book.
(Is that technically five things? Yes, but there are five books in the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, so there’s precedent for that. See above re: reading extremely nerdy books.)
Interviewer: What project are you currently working on that gets you excited to start the day?
Via: One of my constant projects is monitoring the new features released by our database platform and figuring out how I can use them to support CSA’s staff and freelancers. I’ve been working on improving the search options to make it easier for staff to find freelancers who have the right skills for a project, and also making it easier for freelancers to let us know their current availability and update their content area and skills information. I’m looking forward to some major renovations on how we structure the skills data for a couple of content areas next!
Interviewer: Which CSA core value resonate with you the most and why?
Via: We Welcome: We believe that everyone, regardless of background or ability, should have an opportunity to thrive
One of my core beliefs is that every human being has inherent worth, and that no one has more inherent worth than anyone else. It follows, then, that if anyone should have the opportunity to thrive, everyone should have the opportunity to thrive.
I’ve been fortunate to work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds over my career, and I’ve learned that the “resume info” of education and jobs held rarely does a good job of representing what someone truly knows and can do. I’m glad that my particular role at CSA allows me to work on making our systems as welcoming as possible for as many people as possible.
Interviewer: What is one thing—big or small—that you’re currently learning?
Via: Right now I’m reading up on modern ethics and philosophy. I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the ancient stuff from my college coursework, but it’s not like the development of philosophy stopped after Marcus Aurelius.
Other than that, whatever comes up next on my podcast feed—I listen to several podcasts about history, economics, and tech.
Click here to learn more about Via!
Page last updated April, 2026
