What have you accomplished in your professional life/career since your 40 Under 40 selection?
Since my 40 Under 40 selection, I have been involved in the following accomplishments:
- Served as board treasurer for the Lussier Community Education Center;
- Served on the board for Friends of the Waisman Center;
- Current chair of the Wisconsin Bankers Association Government Relations Committee;
- Board member of Wisconsin Bankers Association BOLT (Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow) Section;
- Advisory board member, director, and teacher for the Wisconsin Bankers Association Compliance Schools; and
- Have lobbied and testified for banking bills at both the local and national levels.
What accomplishments, milestones, or endeavors have you attained in your personal life since your 40 Under 40 selection?
I have built a life with my family in Middleton. My son, who has special needs, is now 12 and almost a teenager, so I spend a lot of time with family and friends. We have spent a lot of time traveling to our “bucket list” destinations.
I have become an advocate both personally and professionally. On the banking side I lobby and testify on bills to congress and the legislature and I enjoy that very much.
I also am an advocate for my son, who has autism. I advocate for the services he needs at school and home, and also bills to help protect special education and needs to help protect him now and in the future.
If you were to “do it all over again,” what (if anything) would you do differently throughout your career?
I think everything happens for a reason to get you to where you are today, so I don’t think I would make any changes at all. I am very happy both personally and professionally with where I am today. If I were to say I would do something differently, it would mean I regret some decisions I made, and I try not to look backward, only forward.
How did your 40 Under 40 selection help your career?
I think being selected for 40 Under 40 helps everyone in their career both directly and indirectly more than they know. Personally, I have kept in contact with many of the other honorees to connect and get to know each other. In turn, I think we all try to help each other both professionally and personally.
What is something that you have a new passion for since the time of your induction — either professionally or personally?
Through my son I have now have a deeper passion for baseball. Since my son has autism and memorizes any statistic about baseball — and NASCAR, football, hockey, etc. — he and I started watching the games together since it is something I can connect with him on. We can do it as a family and watch his eyes light up. Now his goal is to attend every baseball stadium in the United States. So far, we have gone to a half dozen fields.
Based on your experience, do you have any advice for today’s young professionals (under 40)?
Take advantage of every opportunity given for networking with not only 40 Under 40 peers but also all the networking events offered. Some people are scared of the sales process per se, but networking and getting to know people on a personal level in my opinion takes the “sales” out of it and becomes people wanting to do business with people they know and trust.
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