What have you accomplished in your professional life/career since your 40 Under 40 selection?
There are several things to be proud of over the last nine years but there is one that rises to the top. I have had the privilege of serving as the United Way of Dane County employee campaign manager (ECM) for First Business. Over the last nine years, I am so proud of the impact I have been able to have on the community by leading campaigns each year that in total have contributed almost $850,000 to those in need across Dane County. Going back a few more years, if I total up campaign dollars since I started as an ECM in 2007, the contributions have totaled just under $1 million! Rallying our company and hundreds of employees together to make such a substantial impact on our community is so meaningful and one of the pieces of my job that I love the most. It fuels me in a way that no other piece of my role does and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of the “change” that our community can benefit from. Beyond just the monetary impact, I have been able to use my role as an ECM to also mobilize so many people and teams out into the community to volunteer their time and efforts. This combination of dollars and volunteerism directly impacts the ability for everyone in our community to succeed.
What accomplishments, milestones, or endeavors have you attained in your personal life since your 40 Under 40 selection?
I am the proud mom to two amazing boys (ages 9 and 6) and have found this “job” to be undeniably the most rewarding personal journey that I have been on. It is incredibly challenging to balance “all the things” as they say, but it is all worth it. One of the things I love most as the boys have gotten a little older is the ability to share with them my passion for giving back to the community. One of my most memorable parenting moments will forever be the first time I took both boys with me to their first volunteer event as we participated in the Days of Caring with the United Way. Making memories as a family by sharing our kindness with others is something I hope sticks with them and becomes a natural part of who they are, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to share their kindness as they grow up and impact others.
If you were to “do it all over again,” what (if anything) would you do differently throughout your career?
There is not one thing in particular that I feel like I would change, or any specific decisions that I regret. In all honesty, I have been happy with the natural career journey I have been on, the experiences that I have had, companies I have worked with, and most importantly the people I have been surrounded by. But I think I would say maybe that I wish I would have taken more risks at whatever level was appropriate over the years. I tend to be a cautious, more conservative person as it relates to “big life decisions,” and so maybe through my career there may have been opportunities where I could have made decisions that were not as “safe” that would have impacted how things have turned out or pushed me more outside my comfort zone. With that said, I am very happy with where I am at and the decisions I have made, and I look forward to the continued journey and where it takes me in the future.
How did your 40 Under 40 selection help your career?
I was honored to be chosen as part of the 40 Under 40 group and felt instantly part of an elite community of other young professionals. This group affiliation has brought a natural connection that I have been able to use as I am networking and connect with others who have received the same accolade. In my role as director of talent acquisition, I have had many people who I have interviewed over the years pick out this accomplishment from my profile and bring it up in conversation. I am always so appreciative of their congratulatory comments about receiving the recognition. In each class that is selected, it is always so awesome to see just how different everyone is, but yet so similar in that they are building amazing careers, creating great impact in both their personal and professional lives, and giving back to their communities. It has been a pleasure to be included with such an amazing group of people in Madison!
What is something that you have a new passion for since the time of your induction — either professionally or personally?
I have always had an interest in the success of the next generation but have found a growing passion for building strong talent pipelines of young professionals through structured development programs. With a background in higher education and career services, I have enjoyed mentoring and coaching students and upcoming graduates. As I transitioned to recruiting and human resources, I have been able to blend those worlds together in a way where I can help to ensure our talent pipelines are allowing us to meet our strategic business and workforce planning initiatives. I have been working to create structured, industry-specific development programs, for both our internships and full-time positions, that can better prepare students and young professionals for a successful career in our industry. As a growing company, a big focus for me as also been our ability to scale these programs across our geographic markets so that we can overcome the limited talent pools we are faced with, by having more robust internal talent pipelines and programs that can get new hires up to speed more quickly and on a path for longer term success.
Based on your experience, do you have any advice for today’s young professionals (under 40)?
Often when I am coaching young professionals, a piece of advice that I share is the importance of taking ownership for the (shifting) priorities that you set for yourself in life (both personally and professionally). By that I mean, as the life cycles we are in change over time, our priorities adjust. Sometimes they are forced to shift; sometimes we make the decision to shift them. But throughout my career, I have found as there are changes to what is most important to me, the more I have taken ownership over them and have been content with the changes, the less stress I have felt. I think this is often difficult, especially for women, because we do tend so see shifts as we progress in our careers and more things are added to the equation. The way we prioritize things as a young professional will likely differ from when marriage or children come into the mix, for example. For women, there is a pressure that we feel the need to balance work and life all the time and do “all the things.” But for me, when I shifted priorities and took ownership and was content in the decisions I made (for example, having my boys and deciding my job as mom was No. 1 on my list, and caring for myself — I love yoga — was right up there, too), it allowed me to feel less guilt when I was putting my family or myself before work or other obligations. Enjoy each stage of life that you experience and be comfortable with how things change! And bonus — find a company that supports you through your life stages; I am so grateful I did, which has led to me being there for 14 years! There is no right answer, no playbook on how to handle things. You just need to do what is right for you and run with it.
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