Age: 36
Occupation: Director – Information Technology, Iowa Interstate Railroad; President – Beat Cancer Today
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Be the note taker in meetings. It’s a job most people don’t volunteer for, but you will be the one that people come to for information since they know you took the notes and you become known as the subject matter expert.
What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments?
I co-founded and serve as president for a nonprofit organization Beat Cancer Today. Since 2012, we have raised more than $150,000 for childhood cancer research and patient and family support programs.
What would most people be surprised to learn about you?
My oldest son, Eli, passed away just before his eighth birthday in 2012 due to cancer. He was the inspiration behind my involvement in co-founding Beat Cancer Today.
What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Don’t get worked up over the small stuff. It’s a waste of time and energy to get caught up in drama and the little things that don’t matter.
How do you ensure a balance between work and your personal life?
I don’t believe that there is a work life and a personal life. There is just life. Sometimes I’m taking care of family matters during the day and sometimes I’m doing things for work at night.
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support?
BeatCancerToday.org, CandlelightersNYC.org, and MiracleTravelWorks.org. These are all organizations that support families and patients dealing with childhood cancer as well as childhood cancer research.
Who are your local mentors?
Eric Engelmann, executive director, NewBoCo
