Hey There!
I’m just going to say it: I really struggled with writing this About Me page.
Despite having written a memoir, which could arguably be the most self- absorbed work imaginable, I don’t like trying to write about myself.
I’d much rather meet you in person and chat over a nice cup of coffee—
if it’s before noon—or a nice glass of Malbec—it’s 5:00 somewhere, right?! Juicy, soul-filled conversations are my favorite and it’s hard to get that same connection with only words. If you’d rather do that, too, don’t even bother to read on. Just click here and we’ll do it!
But, if you’re a person whose curiosity is still piqued by my dramatic ways, I can appreciate wanting a bit more of the backstory.
The challenge is this: everything I’ve ever experienced personally and professionally helped me become the woman that you may or may not choose to work with.
How does one summarize the entirety of her life in one page? Short answer? She doesn’t.
Long answer? Here goes nothing...:-)
MY CORE BELIEFS
Everyone has something to contribute and the way to light up a place—a company or a community—is to help people find a way to use their gifts.
If we’re not growing, we’re dying.
Doing nothing is a choice.
By trying to please everyone, you please no one, including yourself. By being more of who you are, the people who are meant for you will more easily find their way to you.
If you really want something done in your community, you’re likely the someone you’ve been waiting for!
I believe that more than anything else, people matter most.
In business, in communities, in churches, and in families.
If we can learn a skill that helps us better navigate the relationships with other humans, an enormous positive ripple effect occurs.
I mean, think about it: people live and work across contexts. No matter a person’s role, industry, or zip code, we don’t often remain in one tidy little box.
For me, it’s always been about people and I believe my mission on the planet is to continue to develop and grow while sharing the best of what’s working and the lessons I’ve learned from what’s not working.
Not only have I been practicing the art of being a human for a good long while now—feel to guess just how long!—I realize that alone doesn’t qualify me to help you.
I also have well over a decade of professional experience working with companies across sectors to help them improve their culture. This work applies not only to organizations but to communities as well.
I help organizations prioritize their people.
As it relates to my work in small towns, I am the founder of a non-profit called Growing Small Towns that exists to help the communities we serve to be a place people love to call home.
I believe that many of the reasons a person loves an employer overlap with the reasons people love a community.
Translating the best practices in organizational development to community development lights me up! (Feel free to judge that statement as you see fit. I am pretty nerdy about this stuff.)
Oh, I’m also a farmer’s wife in a fifth-generation farming family, mom to three awesome kids and I live next door to my parents.
Believe me, I’m as perplexed by it all as you are!
I bring all of myself to work; my personal and professional lives often overlap and because they all involve people, I find material everywhere I look.
The bottom line is this: I’m just a human who believes in the power of harnessing the best in other humans and if that’s what you, your organization, or your event needs, we should chat.
It’s messy work and I like it that way.
It’s not always going to be easy; we’re not growing when things are easy. And after all, if we’re not growing, we’re dying, right?
If you want to grow together, I’m game! Here’s what to do next:
Tune into weekly episodes of the Growing Small Towns Show
Put on your PJs and cozy up with my book, How Mommy Got Her Groove Back
Check out how we can
work together
