About Me

My Story

My personal and professional lives have taken many twists and turns. As most Gen X'ers I tend to relate my experiences to those I've seen in movies and when I reflect on my journey, I often think of Dorothy and the yellow brick road. It's clear to me now, she was picking up the characteristics she needed to become a better person. One can develop the skills needed to be a role model or they might look back and find they had them all along.​​

I started my first career job in 1998, as an assistant to an assistant, and in just over 24 months I had designed and implemented a CRM for the global telemarketing company for no other reason than I had seen a problem that needed to be solved; I learned what needed to be done and did it. I was then asked to implement and manage the same program in Dublin, Ireland for the European sales office.

This is when I discovered I had the brains to do anything.

I would have loved to continue my Ireland experience for a decade, but in the IT crash of 2001 the company folded along with thousands of others and I moved back to Florida. Having lived in a cold climate for the year, I came back with an impulsive desire to work outdoors. Subsequently, I followed my time in the upper latitudes with a BS degree in Biology from the University of South Florida. I landed a job in the local environmental government agency before graduating and stayed there for 10 years where I rapidly advanced from field staff to that awful place called middle management.

While in that position I learned an abundance of new skills both personally and professionally. I helped to solve many issues, designed and delivered training, managed 4 programs, started a GIS intern program, spoke at conferences, granted and received grants, ran strategic planning and employee engagement initiatives, and wrote an award-winning application after joining the Florida Sterling Council as an excellence examiner. After 10 years there, I hit the proverbial glass ceiling hard. I knew that I had what I needed to start my own consulting business so I lept, resigning in October 2015. However, before I could move forward on my journey, I needed some me-time. I went on a trek across the country in a class-A RV with my two cats. We traveled from Tampa, Florida to Yosemite National Park, California, and back. Most men and women express envy of the moxie and planning it takes to make a journey like that on one's own.

This is when I discovered I had the courage to do anything.

I should mention, before resigning from my career and taking the epic trip across the country, I had been the relative caregiver of a 2-year-old and 4-year old. Imagine yourself working full time, plugging away on a second bachelor's degree, volunteering to do performance evaluations in a nonprofit all while being a single mother with zero kid experience and a crazy baby-daddy on your tail. Then imagine the two-year-old is diagnosed with cancer*.

This is when I learned, I had the heart to do anything.​

Knowing I had the brain, heart, and courage to do anything In 2016, I added project management certification to the six sigma green belt certification and designed a performance excellence framework, called The Role Model Way™. The framework is designed to solve several issues I've experienced with existing frameworks and to be a jumping board for leaders who are willing to stay on the journey to success even when the witches and evil flying monkeys are attacking!

To paraphrase dialogue from the 2011 movie, Troy (I'm a Gen X'er and can't help myself with this):

"Why did you choose this life?"

"What life?"

"Helping others achieve their goals"

"It wasn't chosen, I was born - and this is who I am."

*You'll be glad to know the story has a happy ending and the 2-year-old is now a happy healthy 10-year old, living with her mother.