Home: St. Louis, MO and New Brunswick, NJ. Age: Old enough to know better. Profession: MedTech. Organization: Johnson & Johnson. Title: SVP, Global Regulatory Affairs MedTech. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers. Alma mater: Rhodes College (B.S.); Southern Illinois University (M.S.).
Current project: Leading and improving organizations to maximize delivery of novel healthcare products. Recent professional development: Joined a nonprofit board supporting regulatory professionals. Latest contribution to others: Volunteering to work local elections. What’s been your big (or biggest leap)? Asking to lead an adjacent function in addition to my already significant leadership role. Hobbies: Writing bad fiction, painting reasonably good abstracts, baking amazing desserts. Last book read: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Blending her botanist training with her Potawatomi traditional knowledge, she beautifully describes reciprocal relationships within the living world. Recently viewed and recommended: Binged HBO’s Great Pottery Throwdown. Now plotting to build a kiln in the backyard.
Personality profile: Genuine, creative, strategic, approachable. What one word would your closest friend use to describe you? Thoughtful. How do you define a perfect friendship? There when you need them most. What is your greatest joy? My children. What word or phrase do you use far too often? WTF. What natural talent have you neglected? Creative writing. What occupation, other than your own, do you most admire? Nursing and long-term caregiving. What is your favorite place (or way) to spend money? I am helpless in the face of beautiful art. What is at the top of your bucket list? Iceland’s Ring Road and northern lights. What ingredient is essential to your perfect vacation? My family.
What was your first paying job? Seasonal help selling camera equipment (without much working knowledge of camera equipment). What was your favorite college course? Daily Themes. Creative writing essays required every day of the week. What’s prominently featured on your home or office wall? Family photos and art. What’s the best advice you received growing up? Whatever you are doing, give it your all or don’t bother. What’s the best advice you received in your career? If you come with a problem, also bring your suggested solution(s). What is your favorite app? YouTube, for its how-to videos on almost any topic. What company or organization do you most admire? Planned Parenthood.
What is your big idea?
Building affordable housing for at-risk women and children and foster kids aging out of the system. Embedding work opportunities to create thriving, safe communities.
What change are you working on to effect in your profession or field? Digitizing the way we do work globally to accelerate healthcare innovation and address systemic health inequities. What change would you like to see in the world? Bodily autonomy and equal voting rights for all. What message do you want to send out into the world? Believing in a thing is not enough. You must take action to protect and further it. What mega-trend most concerns you? Rejection of science.
What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? Jennifer Garner. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? A wildlife biologist. After your loved ones, what object would you first save from your burning home? Artwork hanging in my office that my boys made when they were little. How would you choose to spend tomorrow, if you knew it was your last day on earth? At the beach with my family, making a paella, drinking sangria and playing cards. What advice would you give your younger self? Be grateful for this time. Perfection isn’t required. Travel more, stress less. What period in your life would you do differently, if you could? I wouldn’t change a thing.
Personal mission: Leaving the people, organizations and environments I have touched better than they were before. Favorite quote: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do” (Eleanor Roosevelt).
