Home: Washington, DC. Age: 47. Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska. Profession: Communications and advocacy. Organization: Open Government Partnership. Title: Chief of Communications and Campaigns. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers.
Current project: Training a bulldog named Nola. Latest accomplishment: Giving positive reviews to every single person on team. They deserved it. Latest contribution to others: Showing up. What’s been your big (or biggest) leap? Leaving the private sector to work in international development. Recent travel or adventure: Skopje North Macedonia to capture stories of amazing brave Afghan refugees. How many countries have you visited? Thirty-seven. Last book read: The Daughters of Yalta: the Churchills, Roosevelts and Harrimans, by Catherine Grace Katz. Recent unique acquisition: A painting purchased in Morocco that was lost in transit for five years.
What is your greatest joy? Seeing joy in others. What natural talent have you neglected? Writing poetry. What occupation, other than your own, do you most admire? Artists. What is at the top of your bucket list? Travel. Anywhere! What is your go-to workout? Squats and deadlifts.
What book have you repeatedly read? The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck. Who is your favorite poet? E. E. Cummings, for his liberal use of punctuation. Who do you admire that may surprise people? Dolly Parton. What’s featured prominently on your home or office wall? Paintings by local artists from places I have traveled. What is the best advice you received growing up? Put yourself in their shoes. What is the best advice you received in your career? "You have enemies? Good. It means you stood for something, sometime in your life" (Winston Churchill). What is your go-to source of news and information? Everything I can get my hands on. What world event has had the greatest influence on your life? The refugee crises. It’s a very small, fragile world and we need to care.
What change are you working on to effect in your profession or field?
Using stories to inform and inspire.
What change would you like to see in the world? Peace. What message do you want to send out into the world? "We the people" also means we the possible. What mega-trend most excites you? Democracy. What mega-trend most concerns you? Authoritarianism.
What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? Kate Winslet. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? A journalist. What object would you first save from your burning home? Paintings and photos. What advice would you give your younger self? Be yourself. Always. What day in your life would you like to re-live?Tomorrow. What period in your life would you do differently, if you could? High school. All of it.
Personal mission: Leave it better than you found it. Favorite quote: "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time" (Blaise Pascal). Desired epitaph: She told her own story.
