The Oracle ACE community has always been about technology — but, even more importantly, about people. Across the world, Oracle ACEs bring together an incredible range of expertise, experiences, cultures, career paths, and perspectives. Some have spent decades working with Oracle technologies; others are much earlier in their journey. They work with different products, solve different problems, speak different languages, and contribute to the community in different ways.
What brings them together is a shared passion for learning, sharing knowledge, and helping others succeed. That’s what we want to celebrate with ACE Spotlight.
Each week, we plan to introduce you to another member of the Oracle ACE community — not only to discover what they know, but also to get to know a little more about the person behind the expertise.
And because our ACEs are located all around the world, we hope you’ll follow along as ACE Spotlight takes us on an international journey through the people, places, technologies, and stories that make this community what it is.
For our very first ACE Spotlight, we’re heading to Columbia, South Carolina, USA, to meet
Oracle ACE Pro Rhianna Albert
🌍 Where in the World Are You?
I’m based in Columbia, South Carolina. It’s known as Soda City — not because of any soda manufacturers, but because people also abbreviate Columbia as “Cola.”
🎉 Three Fun Facts About Me
I actually used an Oracle Database many years ago, back in the 1990s, when I was a teenager!
During a summer internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory, I worked with an Oracle Database with a web front end that allowed physicists to log readings from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS).
During COVID, I taught Python remotely to teenagers in the Charlotte area as part of a CoderDojo.
And I’m a huge bibliophile. I read or listen to more than 100 books a year and track them all on Goodreads — although somehow my “to be read” list just keeps getting longer!
☕ My Perfect Weekend
The philosopher Immanuel Kant said, “Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination.”
So I don’t strive for perfect weekends — just happy ones.
Any time I spend with my three boys and my husband fits into that category. You might find us on an impromptu road trip, walking around flea markets or vintage shops, or sometimes simply being together and watching a random movie. Those are the things that put a smile on my face.
⭐ ACE Since…
I became an Oracle ACE in 2020.
🚀 My Oracle Journey
My Oracle journey actually started during that summer internship in high school, and I continued working part-time at Brookhaven National Laboratory while I was in college.
After that, every role I had seemed to include some piece of Oracle technology that I interacted with, built on, or integrated with.
I became much more active in the Oracle ecosystem while working with RightNow Technologies, which Oracle later acquired.
💡 One Oracle Feature More People Should Know About
AI isn’t new.
If you look across Oracle SaaS applications, you’ll find dozens of AI capabilities that have been around for quite some time. Over the past few years, however, the growth has been tremendous.
Customer Experience is a great example. New Generative AI and Agentic AI capabilities are helping sellers, contact center agents, marketers, field service technicians, and others work more efficiently.
One resource I particularly like is Oracle’s documentation covering AI features in Fusion Applications, which continues to be updated as new capabilities are introduced.
🛠️ A Project I’m Proud Of
One of my most memorable projects involved a high-tech manufacturing company moving from SAP ECC to a solution integrated with SAP ERP.
This was around 10 years ago, and the amount of change — technical, functional, and training-related — meant plenty of weekends and late nights fuelled by pizza and energy drinks!
In the end, we delivered an Oracle-driven front-office solution used by internal stakeholders, customers, prospects, marketing, knowledge teams, and sales teams.
What made the project especially memorable was the people. They were passionate and understood their business, which made receiving their stamp of approval incredibly rewarding.
📚 What I’m Learning Right Now
I’m currently learning how to use AI Agent Studio to create agents that work across applications — both Oracle and non-Oracle — as well as exploring the recently introduced Agentic Apps.
I’m doing that through hands-on work in a lab environment, reading documentation, participating in the Oracle University community, and using the learning paths available through Oracle MyLearn.
💬 Ask Me About…
Ask me about Customer Experience, AI Agent Studio, integrations, and industry applications such as WACS and CCS.
And outside technology, I have a book recommendation: Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions. It’s a very quick read.
I’d also recommend Germany as a destination. There are so many small towns and places to explore — especially if, like me, you enjoy ruined castles.
🌟 Advice for Aspiring Oracle ACEs
My biggest piece of advice is that if you’re already involved in the community, speaking, sharing, or simply interested in becoming more involved, reach out to one of us.
We can help you learn more about the program — or, even better, consider starting with the Oracle ACE Apprentice path.
🤝 Let’s Connect!
You can find me on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and across several Oracle communities. On most platforms, you’ll find me under my name or justrhianna.
That’s our first stop on the ACE Spotlight journey! 🌍
From Columbia, South Carolina, we’ll be heading somewhere new next week to meet another member of the Oracle ACE community — with a different story, different expertise, and a different perspective to share.
Because there’s no single path to becoming an Oracle ACE. What connects this global community is the willingness to keep learning, share what you know, and help others along the way.
Follow the Oracle ACE Blog and Oracle ACE social channels to join us each week as we meet the people behind the expertise.
Where will ACE Spotlight take us next? 🌎