T.R.U.E. Leadership

I am so excited to work with each one of you amazing ladies!

Growing up in rural Vermont provided a grounding in the values of nature, neighbors, and family. As the oldest at home of a large family and the only girl, being first came naturally. A competitive family environment, a thirst for equality in sports and work opportunities, was at the forefront of my youth. As the first generation of girls to benefit from Title IV and the Women’s Movement, I set out to define my life on my own terms. A single parent to one son, non-traditional path for my education, a nagging wanderlust, and desire to always support those in need, has provided a path less travelled by many, but perfect for me.

Leadership is personal to me! Often discounted in my youth because I was not from wealth, a girl, and labeled a “tomboy”, I worked my way through school, tripped through different career fields, before finding a great fit in higher education fundraising. Direct, bold, uncompromising, fair, and caring are descriptions of the type of leader I am today. My career has included missteps, time-outs, and lots of bumps, but I believe my success is best measured by the successful careers of those I have mentored and coached along the way.

“When I reflect on my past work, the leaders I have coached, mentored, given a hand up to, supported, and sometimes redirected, is the work I am most proud of and loved doing each day. Fundraising success is measured in dollars raised; I have always felt that was a natural result from building high performing teams. This work is personal – I want to share what I know now, to help others shape their leadership skills and personal success.”

Welcome to the T.R.U.E. Leadership Path Project! I am excited to get to know each of you better and help guarantee you have an impactful and incredible experience on this journey.

An Airforce “brat” I am not, but having grown-up in that environment, it provided me with a core set of skills, values, and innate persistence to push through whatever got in my path to success. While attending Mount Holyoke College, I played varsity soccer, studied International Relations and Spanish, and traveled across the globe.

While in school, I was chosen by the US State Department, along with five other female athletes, to travel to Kosovo to promote women sports. In Kosovo, I represented the group of US diplomats at press conferences expressing hopes and aspirations for women’s sports in Kosovo. I also met with leaders in women athletics and provided consultative assistance for the pioneering initiatives of the national sports teams and regional club teams. I believe that participating in sports can play a valuable part in a girl's journey to develop excellent leadership skills, and I am committed to extending access to sports for all women across the globe.

"From jumping off a train in Germany, exploring the Atacama Desert, to skiing fourteen-thousand-foot peaks, and now starting my own business; I want to build a community to help women lead a life on the path less traveled, standing up for what you believe in, and embracing the unknown. I believe one must push through the fear of failure, not by ‘jumping off the face of the mountain’, but by building your unique path that will support your growth, and ability to persist to success.”