What made you want to do the work you do? Please share the full story.
I’m driven by inspiration, and I often find it in the most unexpected moments — while watching a show with Eric, on a walk, or on a bike ride. Bringing those ideas to life is where my team comes in: I tend to see the big picture and the direction, and I rely on the strong people around me to shape and execute it.
The pull toward this work started early. I grew up with entrepreneurial parents and spent my childhood around the office — I even coined the company’s slogan in middle school, and it’s still in use today. I’ve always loved building and growing things to their fullest potential. Creating strong organizational processes and cultures, while empowering the people around me to contribute meaningfully, is what truly fuels me.
Tell us 3 surprisingly easy and 3 surprisingly difficult things about your business.
3 surprisingly easy:
1. Operating in a top leadership seat fits naturally with my personality and strengths, and I’ve truly enjoyed working in this capacity.
2. Empowering our leaders to take ownership of their departments and operate from a place of curiosity.
3. Now, almost two years in, I’m finding it easier to be present with my kids instead of mentally tethered to the business at all hours.
3 difficult:
1. Accepting that it’s not solely up to me to solve our biggest challenges. My default is to figure it all out on my own not because I think I know better, but out of a sense of responsibility. Remembering that I have a whole team of knowledgeable, creative people who can make the solution even better has taken real practice.
2. 4 Separating myself from the natural ebbs and flows of owning a business. It’s easy to tie your sense of security and peace to how things are going at any given moment.
3. Staying focused on what’s in our control while accounting for outside forces geopolitical dynamics, the global economy that affect the business but that we can’t dictate.
What are the 3 things you like best about your work and why?
What I like best:
1. The people I work with. Genuinely. I feel like we hit the jackpot with our team.
2. The visionary aspect I love pondering what’s working well, what could improve, and what new possibilities are open to us.
3. I really like being my own boss. Ha!
What are your greatest 3 skills and how have they helped you succeed?
That’s a packed question. For skills, I’d say:
1. The ability to take complex situations or concepts and distill them into clear, actionable steps.
2. A visionary, growth-minded outlook that lets me see beyond current circumstances and move toward outcomes that once seemed improbable.
3. Making people feel genuinely seen and valued which, more than anything, is what builds the trust and buy-in to actually get things done.
Tell us about a time you were dead wrong about something.
For years, I operated under the illusion that making other people happy would make me happy. It took a lot of unwinding before I realized how untrue, and how relentless, that pursuit really is. I did a lot of deep therapy work (like most millennials these days) and started turning inward, toward my own needs and desires rather than everyone else’s. It was painful and arduous, and I still have tendencies that pull me back into that mindset. But learning to honor myself has been a total game-changer. I genuinely wouldn’t be sitting in this role today if I hadn’t worked through it.
How do you get yourself out of a funk? Please share the details.
The best thing I can do is step away move my body or go for a ride. I love a good Vespa or bike ride. I’ll deliberately point my attention toward something completely unrelated. Giving myself that separation is often the hard part, because my instinct is to drill in harder. But that space is almost always where the clarity comes from.
What is a habit you try to stick to and how has it helped you?
I’ve recently built a somatic yoga practice into my routine three to five times a week, whether for five minutes or thirty. It helps me connect more deeply with myself and shows up in my work as greater clarity, energy, and focus.
How do you celebrate your victories?
Some classic jumping up and down and cheering is always a fun start but depending on the level of the victory, I’ll often mark it with a special dinner out with Eric, or even a vacation.
What is your favorite movie and why?
I’m currently working through all the Harry Potter movies, something I tend to do every year or two. There’s real nostalgia in them, having grown up reading the books as they were released. But they also help me tap back into my childlike imagination and creativity, which is a nice shift from business and parenting mode.
What advice would you give to your younger self and why?
Honestly, I’d tell her to trust herself more. I believe we all have a strong inner knowing and when we tune in to it, we find the clarity and direction we’re looking for. For me, there was plenty to work through to clear out the noise, and there still is.
Who has been your biggest mentor in life (personal or professional) and how have they helped you?
I’d love to pinpoint one specific mentor, but in reality, I’ve been shaped by a collage of influential people and resources. From my high school Future Problem Solving teacher, Cindy Tochterman, who inspired us to “make rainbows out of chicken-wire” to Dr. Gordon Neufeld, whom I don’t know personally but whose work has had a profound influence on my parenting and personal development. There are many pieces to a greater whole that have guided me along the way.
Just for fun, what is your favorite food?
There’s an unbeatable California Turkey Club at a local bakery here in Chattanooga called Niedlov’s. The bread and toppings are so fresh and scrumptious that I could nearly eat it every day and not grow tired of it.