What do you attribute your success to?

I can’t take credit for that yet. It is still the beginning stages, but I certainly think it will be a success. I can take credit for the idea, but it’s a good idea only because it is such a worthwhile cause. But I will take credit for my creativity and drive. I took this idea straight up, and we just started.

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

“Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot,” written by Truman Capote in his 1958 novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This line emphasizes the immense value of mentors, friends, or loved ones who build up your self-belief, suggestng that such emotional support is a significant debt of gratitude.

I love this quote so much that I made it into a Mother's Day Card last year. Growing up, my mother instilled a confidence in me that can be unstoppable. Nature or Nurture? I could have been born that way. Not certain, but she told me that I can do anything that I set out to do. It is a huge gift to instill that level of confidence in a child. Sadly, I meet so many people that grew up without encouragement of any kind. They had family members that insult them and derail their achievements. Fathers berate their sons over a game performance. It is so counterproductive to insult rather than encourage. And not to pick on the men, because women can be the worst at tearing each other down. If we could build each other up and mean it? The world would be a better place. Never gonna happen because everybody brings their own baggage and their own agenda.

What advice would you give to young women entering into the nonprofit industry?

Don't judge. And don't just say you don't judge, because we all do it. Rather, put yourself in their shoes. Get down to earth and reality, if you want to truly understand the homeless living in encampments, or the battered women that continually goes back to her abuser, or the heroin addict living on a merry go round of pain, or the unmedicated Schizophrenic veteran talking to imaginary people outside Walgreens. They all have a story, and it is a real story. Are you going to hear them? Do you feel empathy or is it just sympathy? I don’t think we pick a profession; it picks us. It presents itself and it fits.

What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

Unfortunately, it comes down to money. I have so many things I want to implement, so many ideas...but we must have funding to do anything more. Yet, more funding means more scholarships---more kids on their way!

What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I value my perspective and compassion in any given situation. Through the experiences that life has dealt me, I have compassion for people at any level. I try to understand the issue and how they must feel. I have been at the top of the food chain and I have certainly been at the bottom, or somewhere in between trying to survive myself, with people trying to be on my food chain Most people can't comprehend how a guy that made six figures last year is sleeping on the floor at the bus station tonight. This doesn't make sense to most people, but I get it entirely. Mental health and chemical dependency come into play, but sometimes it is just the hand you were dealt. Bad things happen to good people. And good things happen to bad people. I pay attention to all of them. Life can spin on a dime, or at least my life does. If I am anything, it is resilient. If I end up on a park bench one night, I can promise you I won't be there the next night. I'm a survivor of so many things, but I don't cling to labels and justifications. I trudge through it in my big girl boots and big girl panties. But throughout our journey, we must never forget those that held out their hand to us, pulled us up out of that muddy ditch. The help might have been a ride down the road, a five dollar bill or a sandwich they gave, but pay it forward, Ladies! That’s my insight. Nothing is more rewarding than helping the next one out of that rabbit hole.