1. What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job and why?
Adapting to the changes in trends and tendencies in my field is the most challenging aspect of my job. Changing seemingly daily, keeping abreast of these items is essential.
Being able to provide a unique experience by turning an idea into reality and helping clients accomplish a successful event is the most rewarding aspect of my job. I take great pride in providing the best possible experience for our clients.
2. Who do you look up to or admire in business and why?
My former boss, Sue Cudworth, has been my greatest mentor. She is highly experienced in the hospitality field and I learned a great deal while working with her. She leads by example for how to be successful in my field and I still utilize some of the best practices I learned from her to this day.
3. What has been the high point of your career so far?
I had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Secret Service in 2010 during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Madison. It was interesting to learn about the logistics of the visit and help with the preparation for his stay. Being surrounded by secret service agents and explosives detection dogs was surreal, but I’ve never felt so safe at work!
4. Thinking back on your career, what advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
With every experience comes an opportunity to learn something new. Try to be like a sponge and absorb it all — good and bad. Mistakes are bound to happen, but how you learn from them and progress will be the key to success.
(Continued)
5. What would you say are the best things about living and working in Dane County?
I love the multifaceted nature of Madison and Dane County and enjoy the array of events and groups I get to work with. Working with groups from academia, government, and the private sector provides me with a variety of clients, which makes me appreciate Madison and everything it has to offer.
I have lived in Madison for 12 years now, and much has changed in that time. It is nice to know that Madison, while growing rapidly, has managed to retain a sense of community. I love that my husband and I can enjoy a cocktail and a Broadway show in the city one night, and the next day enjoy the many outdoor recreational activities that Dane County has to offer by driving just a few miles outside the city.
6. Do you have any secret talents or abilities that people would be surprised to discover?
There is an artsy side of me. In my free time I like to play the piano and learn new songs. I first learned when I was 6. My older sister and I used to perform our own recitals at home for family gatherings. It was a lot of fun!
7. What are your guilty pleasures?
I can spend hours on Houzz, Pinterest, and lifestyle blogs. After much encouragement and inspiration of friends who have their own blogs, I finally decided to create mine, too!
Click here to sign up for the free IB ezine – your twice-weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. If you are not already a subscriber to In Business magazine, be sure to sign up for our monthly print edition here.
