Up Close With Mirjana Filipovic

Current job: I am an Account Executive with Columbia Collectors. They are the Northwest’s first collection agency and I’m very proud to be a part of a great company. I help represent and communicate with businesses, helping them navigate how to recover their overdue receivables. I help explain how we can aid, guide and plan with their customers and patients on how to pay their debts. I also help explain how we protect reputation just as well as we collect.

Proudest professional moment: In 1995 when I came to the United States, I was told, “In this country the sky is the limit, just as long as you pay your taxes.” At that moment, I thought people are “crazy” in this part of the world. Today, I must say they are right. My educational and professional background lead me to the most favorable profession I could ever dream of. Most people will ask what’s so exciting about collections, and I will say everything is. It’s like art, each case is different, challenging, exciting and enthusiastic. The proudest moment is when I wake up in the morning knowing that I am the person who helps businesses grow and helps them to navigate through difficult situations with their prized clients. I would have never guessed that I could find such reward as I have found with my current career. Today, I can say “the sky is the limit in this country, and I am the proud to be a part of this community.”

First job: At the age of 16, I worked night shifts in the company where my mom was the boss. Believe me, I learned lessons the hardest way on how to respect authority!

Fun fact: I’ve always wanted to learn how to sew and my mother decided to send me to sew classes, which I passed; however, even today I still don’t know how to sew. Shhh … don’t tell mom.

Favorite spot on a Saturday night: Other than relaxing with my family, I love to dance, party and socialize. I love looking at life the funniest way.

Favorite movie: I am “old school.” My favorite movies are: “The Sound of Music,” “Casablanca,” “It’s Wonderful Life,” “Almost Famous,” etc.

Music of choice: I love all kind of music: rock, pop, jazz, swing, hip hop, but classical music is my go to music during the day.

Favorite place to eat: Savona Coffee House, Beaches Restaurant, Warehouse 23 on the Columbia, Bosnia Restaurant on Burton Road, Jerusalem on Chkalov Drive.

Motto/Inspirational quote: “The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal theirs.” – Zig Ziglar

Joanna Yorke is the managing editor of the Vancouver Business Journal. She has worked in the journalism field since 2010 after graduating from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University in Pullman. Yorke worked at The Reflector Newspaper in Battle Ground for six years and then worked at and helped start ClarkCountyToday.com.

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