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Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. We frequently spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Adina Levin, Co-founder of Collab—a Fabrication Lab, Innovation Studio and Do Tank in NYC.  Adina is innovating her field of work by going beyond a traditional co-working space at Collab by providing space, technology, and manufacturing equipment for artists, architects, fabricators, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and others to work on their ideas while collectively developing socially and environmentally conscious solutions.

1) What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

I was 28, and in a bad business partnership.  I had started the company with no money and a desktop computer in a shared studio apartment in the West Village, growing it into a business that employed 18 people and generated more than $2 million in sales.  In choosing to walk away from the business, I realized that sometimes you have to let go in order to move forward even if that means deciding to leave a monetarily successful business.  This moment has been a constant reminder to me, and one of the guiding refrains that defines my business life — I can always make more money, but I can’t make more time.

2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

In any professional life, there are countless people who are valuable mentors.  Yet my father is the person who helped shape my imagination, curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit most.  As I kid, I watched him connect the dots, and turn ideas into action.  He taught me that generating sales solves most problems in business. He showed me the importance of maintaining good relationships with employees, vendors, and clients.

3) What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest goal now is expanding Collab into a much larger location, transforming it from a fabrication lab and innovation studio into a 100K sf space that democratizes innovation.  To continue to push the ecosystem beyond a meritocracy for passionate people with good ideas to collaborate, design, build and thrive into a model that allows these inventors and entrepreneurs to succeed, while giving them the infrastructure to mentor underserved women and children, teaching them the 21st Century skills required for this new era.

4) How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I was 14.  My parent moved the family from California to Florida.  It was fall, in the middle of the school year, and I had just left all of my friends in California. I was miserable and decided I wanted a job.  I went to the local mall, walked from store to store to the food court asking if anyone was hiring.  I filled out an application at a place called Dream Burger.  They called me later that afternoon.  I was so young my mom had to go with me on the interview.  I got the job and they started me working on weekends. They asked me to work evenings too.  My mom said no.  After three weeks, they promoted me to Tater Junction.  They told me it was an opportunity because as I got older I would be able to run both restaurants.  One night, after about a month of working there, the manager kept me until 10pm to clean and then drove me home.  When I got home, my mother was panicking.  She screamed at the manager and made me quit. That was beginning and end of my first job.

5) What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I’m an early bird.  I usually wake up between 4 and 5 and read, research and catch up on the news. I get out of bed around 6, and my husband and I take to our dogs, Annie and Otis, to the dog run.

6) How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time?

At 30, I was designing and producing products for companies.  I was doing millions of dollars a year in business, working with Fortune 500 companies.  But I was a complete mess.  I didn’t have the infrastructure, experience or tools to handle the pressures.  I worked non-stop.  I was constantly anxious.  It was a rough time, but I consider those my MBA years.  I learned what is truly needed in order to be successful.

7) What cause do you most want to advance?

I’m torn by this question.  I think if I had to devote my life to one cause, it would be abolishing human trafficking, and helping these women stay safe, develop, learn, and empower themselves.

8) What song can’t you get out of your head?

I don’t know if there is a specific song, but I’m always singing to myself.  Natalie Merchant, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Madonna – those are the standards.

9) What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Consider the source.

10) What is your “keep me going” quote?

When I’m in a difficult negotiation or situation, I hear my grandfather telling me, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”  He was a tough, loving, highly intelligent man who grew up in the depression and lived a remarkable life.  It sounds a bit harsh when put into writing, but when I hear him saying it, it puts things in perspective. It reminds me of my grandfather, and reminds me of what is truly important.

11) Who on the list of prior Honorees would you like to meet?

I would like to meet all of the women.  If there was a gathering of honorees, that would be wonderful.  To name a few, I’d like to meet Tereza Nemessanyi, Jacki Zehner, Joanne Wilson and Ruth Ann Harnisch.

Check out Adina Levin’s full profile here!

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. We frequently spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Alma Alexander, Renaissance Woman. Alma is innovating her field of work by being a Speaker. Previously, Editor, Heinemann Educational Publishing. Has lived in five countries on four continents! Native of Yugoslavia, grew up in Zambia, Swaziland, and South Africa, England, New Zealand, and now US.

1) What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?

I have never reinvented myself. I’ve been self-defining as a writer all of my life. I don’t think I know how to be anything else, by this point – it’s been half a century of that, and it’s part of my DNA. There is no room for reinvention here.

2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I’ve had inspirations, but neither mentors nor sponsors, not as I understand those concepts. My earliest inspiration is and remains my grandfather, a practicing poet with seven books to his name, who taught me early about the power and beauty of language. But if I am to step outside of family and broaden the meaning of the word “mentor”, then I would have to single out my first encounter with a Real Live Writer – Lynne Reid Banks, who came to visit my school when I was 15 years old. I sat in the school library listening to her telling it like it was – telling the truth– telling of the writing life, and the blood and the sweat and the tears and the frustrations and the agonies and the joys – and I sat up and something inside of me said, THIS, I WANT THIS. It is in many ways thanks to this moment that I eventually became what I was. (Many years later I wrote to her to tell her about this. She did not remember the precise occasion, but she was delighted that something that she had done in her writing life had been so inspirational. In the years that followed I’ve done a number of school visits myself – and if any one of them resulted in a young life being touched by MY words in the way that mine had been touched by Lynne Reid Banks’s I would call it an honor to have been able to pass the torch to a new generation…)

3) What is your biggest goal right now?

Living a life that will leave a legacy worth remembering. I know, it’s broad, but the stories I leave behind will in many ways outlive me. I would hope that they continue to entertain and inspire readers long after I myself am no longer here.

4) How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I actually trained as a scientist and my very first job in my field was in a pathology lab where I was supposed to inject lab bunnies with poisons which would in one way or another destroy them – and I couldn’t do it. I stood there with a rabbit in one hand and a syringe in the other and wept. After I crawled into the sanctuary of the ladies to try and stop bawling, it occurred to me that this possibly wasn’t the career I might be cut out for. So I segued sideways, and took up a job as “production editor” for the journal of the Allergy Society of South Africa. That encompassed everything from reporting on conferences, writing and editing copy, dealing with advertisers, and anything else that came up needing to be done. That took me to pharmaceutical writing/editing, and from that into a senior editorial position with an international educational publisher. Once I left that… I simply continued doing what I always wanted to do in the first place. Write.

5) What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I am not really competent to be “human” before at least 9AM, and even then not before a cup of coffee. I tend to wake with dreams still spooling in my head, and sometimes it is necessary to write down a few key words to serve as a mnemonic because I’ve used these dreams as story seeds more than once. I’ve always had vivid dreams using all the senses, and that has been part of my storytelling DNA. As to morning routines, I have (more) coffee, and then I “commute” downstairs to my office where I tend to spent more time than I should dealing with email, Twitter, and Facebook. After that, I get on with the research that needs to get done, or if I have a work in progress I turn to that.

6) How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time?

For some reason the big Three Oh was absolutely fine for me. I was kind of a “grown up” now, not a kid any more, but I was also still YOUNG. I was working as an in-house senior editor at that point, and having a ball at it. I was pretty much on top of the world, and everything was shining and possible. Good times.

7) How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I start getting antsy without my Internet after a couple of ENFORCED hours away from it. But if I choose to unplug it, I am perfectly fine if I just occasionally touch base with my email. I am not yet completely enthralled by the cyberworld to the point that I can’t exist without it. And unlike most people today, I am far from wedded to my cellphone. It is for my convenience, not anyone else’s, and I don’t’ walk around staring at the screen of the phone instead of the world around me. So you might say I am very loosely plugged in to begin with…

8) What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

There are a few I might mention – but let’s stick to a nice flashy one. A number of years ago NASA decided to produce a commemorative poster honoring the Mercury 13, the first women who could actually be termed NASA astronauts. They wrote to ask if they could use a fragment of of a poem of mine on that poster. I screamed, and I cried, and then I wrote them a commendably level-headed response telling them that of course they could. I have always believed in the stars, and this is really pretty much as close as I have come to being a part of the whole process of becoming a starfaring species. I am still immensely proud of the fact that I was chosen for this and a copy of the poster hangs in pride of place in my house. Of course, there’s other things that might take their rightful place here. I remain delighted and not a little astonished that my most successful novel, “The Secrets of Jin-Shei”, ended up in 13 languages worldwide – and a Spanish bestseller. But then, I am proud of all of my books. They all have their own peculiar attributes which make me proud to have had a hand in making them live.

9) What cause do you most want to advance?

I could say liberty and justice for all, but that would be hubris – that is not for one person to advance, that is the work of all of us. If I could pick a smaller thing, then, as a writer, I would like to choose stories. I would want to make sure everyone in this world grows up with stories, that everyone in this world loves language, that everyone in this world (after having clean water and food and a roof over their heads first, of course, priorities matter) has AN EDUCATION, that everyone can read, and has a love of reading inculcated in them. Everyone, and more specifically, the girls of the world. Education helps everything move forward, makes everything better in the long run. To paraphrase Malala Yousafzai, the thing that most scares those who would kill is a girl with a book in her hand. It is those girls to whom I would want to hold out my hand and help them stand up and be counted.

10) What song can’t you get out of your head?

That changes regularly, but often it is Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Particularly since it’s a kind of anthem, and I tend to re-word the last verse slightly because it turns into a sort of vow: And even if it all goes wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.

11) What is your “keep me going” quote?

I’ve been inspired and supported by many different people, but if you want a quote then I offer you one that the late great Roger Zelazny once offered to me: “You have a voice all of your own. Nobody else will ever write like this.” Those are the words I try to live up to every time I make another sentence of story.

12) What is your secret indulgence?

Chocolate. The GOOD kind. The older I get the less I like the cheap sweet milk chocolate and go to the good dark chocolate – 70%-plus cocoa content. I’m old enough now to know that without the hint of bitter you cannot believe the too-sweet.

Check out Alma Alexander’s full profile here!

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. We frequently spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Angelina Fiordellisi, the Founding Artistic Director at the Cherry Lane Theatre.  Angelina is innovating her field of work by launching new works by 53 emerging dramatist, nurturing and producing the work of over 3500 artists and engaging young women and minority writers and directors (uncommon in the entertainment industry).

1) What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?

In July of 1995, I packed up our home in Santa Monica and we moved back to New York.  I created a home in an apartment in Manhattan, renovated a cottage on a piece of property in Garrison, NY and broke ground for my husband’s dream house.  I found schools for our children who were 5 and 7 and spent the first year focused on them, as well as working with the architect, general contractor, mason and other craftsmen and women who were building our home in Garrison, while my husband was working in Los Angeles creating a new television show and commuting to New York once a month.

After a year of adjustment for the kids, I decided to get back to work.  One of my oldest and dearest friends called me and told me that the historic Cherry Lane Theatre was for sale and would I like to go take a look at it.  When I first walked in I saw an abandoned space that smelled and looked like a dark, damp basement.  The first four rows flooded every time there was rain.  The basement flooded. The ceiling above the stage was damaged by two fires.  The dressing rooms and storage rooms were trashed and filled with junk, and there was an anteroom off of the lobby that had old restaurant equipment and sawdust and no lighting.  Then in the midst of this mess I got a vision of what it would be in 6 months, a year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years…it was quite a moment for me.  remarkable.  I knew that I had to be there, I was meant to be there, that this was my destiny.

2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have several mentors in my life.  First and foremost, Jose Quintero, with whom I studied acting for many years who thought I was smart enough and brave enough to acquire and run a theater.  I was mentored by Alfred Uhry whom I worked with in a new play program for emerging playwrights, Cherry Lane Mentor Project, for which I won the Obie Award.  And most influential, nearest and dearest to me, Billie Allen, a brilliant artist, wise and funny woman that inspired me most.  And I’m very sad to say that we lost her last winter.  I’m also quite fortunate to have a circle of women friends who support me and inspire me.  Joyce Friedman who helped me form the LLC to buy the theater and helped me create the non-profit Cherry Lane Alternative to run the theater, Susann Brinkley, my dear friend with whom I started the theater company, Julie Crosby who serves on my advisory committee with whom I’ve produced and developed new work, Carolyn Copeland, Pamela Perrell, a number of playwrights including David Henry Hwang, Charles Fuller, Marsha Norman, Lisa Ramirez, Kristina Poe, and my brilliant dancing sisters Joanne Edgar, Caroline Kohles, Mary Pat Ryan, Eve Coulson, Wendy Saxe, Deborah Stern.

3) What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest goal right now is to develop the next generation of leadership to take over the administration of the theater so that I can get back to being an artist myself.  That and sustainability for the theater are my current goals.

I created a program, the Founder’s Project to work with seasoned artists: playwrights, directors and actors once a year in a play of my chosing.  This was the inaugural season and I commissioned a play Out of the Mouths of Babes, by Israel Horovitz for Estelle Parsons and Judith Ivey.  As a great gift, Israel wrote a role for me as well, and another actress, Francesca Choy-Kee.  We ran for four weeks to sold out performances with standing ovations.  It was one of the best and most challenging experiences of my life.

4) How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

 My first job in New York came by a casting director, Alan Coleridge, the only person that I knew in New York when I first arrived in April of 1982.  I invited him to lasagna dinner on Easter weekend.  The next day, he told me that he’d heard from another casting director, Peter Cerreghetti, that they just fired someone on the third national tour of Annie, and they were holding auditions.  I went to the audition, and from there was called back to meet Martin Charnin, Charles Strauss, and Peter Gennaro.  At the end of the audition Martin Charnin asked me how long I’d been in New York.  I told him two weeks.  He then asked me, “You just got here, are you ready to go out on the road?”and I replied, “Absolutely!  So they hired me on the spot.  

That Annie tour ended in Boston after a Sunday Matinee, and I drove down to New York to audition the next morning, in an open “cattle” call, for Zorba with Anthony Quinn and Lela Kedrova.  I had never attended a cattle call, and thought that everyone would be very dark haired and ethnic looking and wearing black.  So I decided to dye my hair red and wear white.  I came prepared to sing a Greek song that I’d learned working in a Greek nightclub act.  A woman sitting next to me asked me what I was singing and I told her Ola Se Thimizoun, and she asked me where my music was, I told her that I was going to sing acapella.  She told me that I should NEVER sing acapella. So when they asked twenty of us to step into the audition room, I carried all my belongings with me.  The director, Michael Cacoyannis, who had directed the film, yelled at me that he couldn’t see me behind all those things in my arms, so I threw my coat and bags to the floor, put my hands on my hip and yelled back to him, “Can you see me now?”  and he smiled and said, “You stay.” He was so taken with me that he invited me to the callback for principal roles, auditions.  We were auditioning on the set for NINE at the time.  I was so nervous and frightened that I was there competing with the best of Broadway.  Well I didn’t get one of the principal roles, but I got the understudy and began a three year relationship with the musical and went on to play every major role for women my age, and returned in a contract on Broadway to play the Leader/Woman and was contracted to play the Widow on tour.  It was a great education for me, an experience that led to many great things in my life for which I am ever grateful.

5) What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I typically wake up about 6:30 or 7:00am.  I go to my garden or my deck plants and prune and water them if they need it, then I’ll go downstairs and make coffee.  If my husband is still sleeping, I’ll pray and meditate or do some laundry or just sit on the deck and give thanks for my wonderful life, my wonderful husband, my healthy and beautiful and brilliant son and daughter, for my extended family and friends and for my wonderful staff that are like my children.

6)  What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

Professionally, I’m most proud of keeping the theater going for 20 years.  That is quite the accomplishment after 9/11, after the recession in 2008, after making some bad choices in partners.  I’m very fortunate to have the staff and board and friends in the American theater that supported my through all the challenges.

As a woman I’m most proud of two things.  My wonderful 30 year marriage to my husband.  We are great partners in life and we’ve built a substantial, interesting, meaningful, blessed life together.  And I’m also most proud of my children.  I have a beautiful, intelligent, sensitive and brilliantly original-thinking daughter and a handsome, intelligent, sensitive, startlingly incisive and intuitive humanitarian and artist in my son.

7)  What was the last business book you read? 

The Ask, by Laura Fredricks.

8)  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

“Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.” Anonymous

9)  What is your “keep me going” quote?

“Be impeccable with your word.

 Do not assume anything.

 Do not take anything personally.

 Always do your best.”  A Toltec Wisdom

10) What is your secret indulgence? 

Salted Caramel, Goat milk ice cream

Check out Angelina Fiordellisi full profile here!

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. We frequently spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Anima Patil-Sabale, Scientist-AStronaut Candidate & Aerospace Engineer. Anima is innovating her field of work through her “My Astronaut Aspirations” website and her Facebook “Astronaut Aspirant Anima Patil-Sabale” page. Anima has been answering questions from young girls and boys from ages ranging 5 years to those studying in colleges and universities, to women her own age, who ask her how does she manage her routine of work, family, household duties and do all the things she does for her dream job.

1) What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

Even after I began my career as a software engineer, I always kept exploring to see what I can do to be able to work in the Aerospace Industry and start paving a path to become an astronaut. While working in Mumbai I was looking into studying Ph.D. Aeronautic. But then I came to the US as a software engineering consultant and after I settled down, and was watching the space shuttles continuously launching, that’s when I decided to study here and found out about the MS. Aerospace Engineering program at San Jose State University, SJSU which was the closest and one I could afford with a little difficulty. So I would say moment of reinvention was taking the step to start my MS in Aerospace Engineering at San Jose State University.

2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

No one specific. I wish I had someone, would be an astronaut by now!

3) What is your biggest goal right now?

Becoming a NASA Astronaut.

4)  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I was looking for a software company where I could do my 6 month Industrial Training to complete my Masters in Computer Applications. I kept looking for opportunities in Mumbai (I had travelled to Mumbai from my hometown which was 8 hours by train from Mumbai. Had given myself 10 days to find a job in Mumbai else return home as it was expensive to stay there) On the 10 th and final day of my stay in Mumbai, I got industrial training opportunity in a small software consulting firm and that is how my career began. After my industrial training and Masters, I continued working for the same company for a while.

5)  What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

Since I have a long commute (1 hour each way) I wake up at 3:45-4am, cook and pack lunches, get my boys’s clothes etc ready for them to go to school, and leave home between 5-5:15. I get to work by 6 and leave at 2 so that I get home by 3 when the boys return home from school.

6)  How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time? 

I do not remember clearly but that was the time when I was applying for second Masters, the one in Aerospace Engineering and thinking of all the other things I could do to start working towards my goal. I was on H1B visa so there wasn’t much I could do, but I also tried applying for jobs at NASA knowing very well that I have no chances of even being called for an interview. I continued looking into what all I could do to become an astronaut. I started MS in January 2005, so spent the time around my birthday August 2004 and the rest of 2004 just getting excited to start the MS AE and preparing for it.

7) How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

Not often as I would want to!  But want to do it more often. I unplug by spending time with my boys either going outdoors with them or in their Boyscout activities. I also get involved in community activities, doing talks, recently did one for the Computer History Museums Design-Code- Build event for middle schoolers. And also have been teaching dance medleys to kids and Moms for an event that’s happening on 20th August.

8) What’s the best networking contact you’ve made? How did you make it?

I have been able to connect with fellow astronaut hopefuls on Facebook and share my experiences with them while I learn from them.

9) What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

Having been a non-swimmer growing up (swimming wasn’t common in India when I was growing up in the 80s) I am proud of overcoming my fears of not being able to breathe underwater and getting scuba certified. I am proud of everything I did, that I was told as a norm a girl cannot and is not supposed to do and I did every single one of that thing. Next I will be proud of is when I will complete my private pilots training which has been taking long because of lack of enough savings!

10) What cause do you most want to advance?

Girl education in India and other developing/underdeveloped nations and inspiring and encouraging more Girls to get into STEM

11)  What song can’t you get out of your head? 

My all-time favorite “Dil Hai Chhotasa, Chhotisi asha, Masti Bhare Mann Ki Bholi Si Asha, Chaand Taaro Ko Chhune Ki Asha, Aasmano mein udne ki asha”

Which means, my heart is tiny, my desires are small, my funfilled minds simple sweet desires, to touch the moon and the stars, to fly amongst the skies. I even have a recorded version of this song in my voice that played on a bay area local hindi radio channel:

http://yourlisten.com/anima.patilsabale/animas-chaand- taaro-ko- chhune-ki- aasha#info

12) What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

My Dad’s quote “Be Silent And Act” stuck with me while growing up, when I would be treated differently because I was a girl and also when I would get criticized for saying I wanted to be a fighter pilot or an astronaut. I did stay silent and today with my work have silenced those critics from childhood days. And the biggest unspoken advise given by my parents was the cultural values they passed on to me that help me stay grounded while I continue to fulfill  all my duties and pursue my dream

13)  What is your “keep me going” quote?

Never Give Up! A Will Will Find A Way!

14) What is your secret indulgence? 

Hmm, come to think of it, I don’t have any!  But my best indulgence is listening to music. My favorites are the romantic Bollywood Numbers from the 70s 80s 90s era and recently hooked on to 99.7 FM that I was introduced to by our new teenage. That music has been growing on me and I really love some numbers!

15)  Who on the list of prior Honorees would you like to meet?

Everyone! And the founders of fortyover40. I think all the ladies and their work is amazing and I would like to meet and interact with them all.

Check out Anima Patil-Sabal’s full profile here!

 

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. We frequently spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This Q & A is with Ann Marie Habershaw, leader in business, politics, and champion of women. Ann Marie is innovating her field of work by being the COO of BPI which drives communications strategy for 12% of FORTUNE 100 companies and several of top 20 American non-profits.

1) What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?  

The first was when I decided to take the leap into politics, I was a few years into a professional career as an accountant and did a pivot, I found something I loved and was going to follow where it led. It was quite a ride.  The second was when I was ready to be head back to the private sector and move out of politics.  Each time I had to go back and think about the value that I would bring to an organization regardless of the sector, because I had to make the case that I could succeed in politics and outside of it.

2) Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

Wow, I have been so fortunate to learn from so many amazing people.  My hero’s are my parents and grandparents, they were/are amazing, hardworking people who taught me through the way they lived the value of perseverance. You show up, do your best and don’t let the ups and downs distract you from getting the job done.   In my life I have been so fortunate to have so many people to learn from and grow with, from bosses, to advisors, to co-workers and friends, truly fortunate.

3)  What is your biggest goal right now?   

Big picture is to make the most of every single day and not waste a minute on things that do not matter.  I want to focus on being the best leader I can for BPI media, making sure we have the talent we need, we engage them daily and deliver results that matter to our clients.   Continue to develop as a thought leader in how organizations run and how they manage and lead teams that are diverse in every sense of the word.

 4) How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?   

First job was an on-campus interview, every job after that was about two things, networking and my reputation as a hard work who would show up every day and get the job done.  As I advanced in my career, it still was the network and reputation, but my reputation had grown as a leader.

5)  What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

I wake up anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30.  A few mornings a week I go to crossfit, but every morning I walk and feed my dog, read the New York Times, scan the rest of the news, and look at my schedule to see what is happening on a given day.  I like to get to the office before the rest of the team, have a bit of time to think through the day.  Weekends I sleep in a bit later, 7ish, are longer dog walks and depending on the weather, long walk with friends around town and local farmers market, baseball in the summer, football in the winter, cooking and spending time with those I love.  I try and stay on top of the rhythm of each day.  

6)  How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time? 

I was figuring out how I was going to change things up!   I was in the thick of my pivot from moving from accounting to politics!  Volunteering on my first campaign!

7)  What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

I’ve been lucky to be a part of so many amazing things. From a personal perspective, I grew up in a relatively small town, and I struck out on my own and created this life that is different from others and different to what might have been expected of me at the time.

Professionally, I’m proud of being able to take a national campaign like the President’s re-election campaign that had 5,000 people in 900 offices around the country and make everything work every day. I didn’t really understand what a big deal that was while I was doing it. It was one I looked back on and said, “Wow, that was a lot to manage and lead in such a short period of time.”

8)  What was the last business book you read? 

Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last and Aligning the Stars by Jay Lorsch and Tom Tierney.

9)  What cause do you most want to advance?

Opportunity.  No one should be limited in their goals, hopes and dreams because of where they were born and what there financial status is.  If you are willing to work hard, geography and resources should not be what limits you.

10)  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?  

Don’t let your first thoughts on a topic be known before you open your mouth. In other words, you’ve got to have a little bit more of a poker face. I was given that advice many years ago, and it still rings true.

The other piece of advice that I was given was, whatever offer you get from an employer, always go back and ask for more.

11)  What is your “keep me going” quote?

What do you plan to do with this one life?Not sure who said this, but it is something that has stuck with me.

12)  Who on the list of prior Honorees would you like to meet?

Dominique Crenn, Michelle McKenna.

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