Age: 34
Occupation: Director of Marketing, TrueNorth Companies LLC
What’s the best advice you ever received: The best advice I have ever received is, “Nothing worth having comes easy!” While this is not necessarily the warm, fuzzy advice many seek, I find it is unbelievably true. When I find myself stressed out and feeling like I am in a situation that is overwhelming, I try to bring my focus to the fact that oftentimes change is uncomfortable, however with change comes growth.
What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career: Every late night, every appointment I helped a sales person prepare for, answering the phones at the front desk – it was all “paying my tuition” for where I am today. I couldn’t see that then, but what it was doing was creating a knowledge, and more importantly, a respect, for the work that has to be done in order to run an organization successfully.
What would most people be surprised to learn about you: I lived in New York for my last semester of college and did my internship at a talent agency. I did casting for movies like “Wedding Crashers” and “Meet the Fockers,” and I read in a sound booth for a cartoon. It was an amazing time in my life and I loved it there, but ultimately I was drawn back home because the quality of life was better here.
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support: I suppose I would split it up. There is no secret I am passionate about animals. I believe that humans have a responsibility to be the voice for creatures that can’t communicate their needs and hardships. Second, I would invest in young children and local education. I believe that every child deserves an education and all children require that formal structure in their life. The other area I would invest my money in would be the arts and culture.
