Home: San Jose, CA (or anywhere my Airstream is parked). Age: 51. At the "top" of the hill and loving the view! Birthplace: Nashville, TN. Profession: Business transformation and operations executive; entrepreneur, consultant, certified executive coach, speaker, writer. Portfolio player who invests where there’s opportunity for the most significant impact. Alma mater: The University of Tennessee. Languages spoken: Fluent Southern; rusty French; choppy Pidgin.
Latest contribution to others: During the worst of the pandemic, I published a digital newsletter, “Infectious Expectations”, sharing frequent doses of inspiration. It was later profiled in a university course on “Pandemic Literature through the Ages”. Now publishing it as a book illustrating our ability to inject bright moments into dark days. Hobbies: Photography, community building, glamping. Recent travel or adventure: Hosting a rare female-led Airstream rally at an award-winning olive mill on an 8,000 acre ranch in Central California. Last book read: Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown. She maps 87 human emotions so we would have the words to become storytellers of our experiences.
Personality profile: Intense, grateful, inclusive; ESTJ. Southern charisma with grace and grit. A collector of people and their stories. What is your greatest joy? Seeing others grow from opportunities I created with the good fortune and freedoms from my life. My life is an absolute privilege. What is at the top of your bucket list? Opening a leadership academy for young women in India or Africa. What is your go-to workout? Orangetheory, five times a week. I’m the unofficial mayor of the Rose Garden studio in San Jose, CA.
What’s featured prominently on your home or office wall? My artsy travel photography. Travel photos are the trophies of my life experience. What is the best advice you received growing up? My godmother, Mignon, said: “Travel when you’re young, even if you go into debt. When you’re older and have the money, your body will get in the way of doing everything you want." What modern technology innovation do you most appreciate? Alexa. Among many things, she tells me the weather three times per hour and schedules Lyft when I need a ride to the airport. I’d be completely in the dark without her (literally, since she also controls all the lighting).
What is your big idea?
Companies and Talent should work together however they want – “when needed, for the time needed, with the skills needed." I built Match & Cover in 2021 to enable that vision and connect the two with interim work.
What change are you working on to effect in your profession or field? Leadership personally engaged with their teams. From now on, we must be hands-on. What message do you want to send out into the world? Find your tribe, love them hard.
What object would you first save from your burning home? Quilts made by my two grandmothers. My photos are safe, in multiple cloud locations. How would you choose to spend tomorrow, if you knew it was your last day on earth? At a quiet spot by the ocean, making calls to thank people who made an impact on my life. What day in your life would you like to re-live? Christmas 2015. It was the last holiday with my parents and, if I could re-live it, I’d memorize every moment with them.
Personal mission: “Leaving the ladder down” and empowering people to be the very best version of themselves while collaborating to build experiences that remove barriers through mentoring, coaching and actively creating opportunities for growth. Personal motto: “I’m just trying to matter” (June Carter Cash). Favorite quote: “… practice gratitude to honor what’s ordinary about our lives, because that is what’s truly extraordinary” (Brené Brown).
