1. What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job and why?
In a world where we’re bombarded with thousands of marketing messages, my job is to help find meaningful connections between brands and their current and potential customers. Threading the needle between what a brand can say and what a customer needs to hear is definitely a challenge, but when you know you’ve done it, it feels great. It means you’re helping people hone in and find the answers they need from a world full of options, and you’re helping brands grow by connecting them to the people they exist to serve.
2. Who do you look up to or admire in business and why?
There are so many smart people in the marketing business, it’s impossible to choose just one — but what attracts my admiration are those who do their job with true integrity. By that I mean always looking to do what’s right, even if it’s not easy or it’s a bit less profitable in the short term. Whether you’re in a C-suite position or punching a time clock, there are opportunities every day to do something better, smarter, bigger, or more helpful to others. Those are the people I like to do business with, and for.
3. What has been the high point of your career so far?
I’m lucky enough to feel like my work life is full of high points — every time I see a great concept created by our team, every time there’s a new, smart insight brought to the table, every time I get to see a client enjoy an “ah-ha” moment with us. That, and when my niece wrote in her 4th grade autobiography that she wanted to be an “advertising executive” like her aunt.
4. Thinking back on your career, what advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
I would have said, “Don’t wait so long to get a dog. They will change your life for the better.”
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5. What would you say are the best things about living and working in Dane County?
There are so many hidden treasures all around, you just have to get out and explore. Beautiful parks and trails, great restaurants, music venues, farmer’s markets, festivals, the list goes on. I’ve lived in Madison for years and can honestly say I never found myself bored or out of things to try. And small towns in Dane County are also hidden treasures! We live in Stoughton now and it’s really such a charming place. We love to do our Christmas shopping downtown because there’s so much personality in every storefront.
6. Do you have any secret talents or abilities that people would be surprised to discover?
I’m not sure how much of a secret it is, or how much of a talent, to be honest — but I’m fairly addicted to karaoke. I even competed to win a car in a karaoke contest once. No, I didn’t win, but I got into the finals!
7. What are your guilty pleasures?
I believe I have seen REO Speedwagon in concert about 17 times. I never quite got over the fact that I was too young to go when they toured in the early 1980s and both my sisters went, so I decided to make up for it once I became an adult. Believe it or not, once I actually sang karaoke in front of Bruce Hall, the bass player, at a hotel bar in Rockford.
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