Entrepreneurship is no joke. It's HARD work. Long hours, endless networking, small business admin, the list goes on and on. And, sometimes, being a woman in entrepreneurship is that much harder. But what nourishes and sustains me is the community I've built through it. I love that I can collaborate with other women entrepreneurs, supporting each other's dreams and work in community with each other rather than in competition with each other.

I am a woman of faith, and I use that to help people to reach their potential. I am proud to lead an organization that welcomes refugees and asylees and helps them to be self-sufficient and to become productive and contributing members of our community. I am also inspired by people who are successful in making an impact to transform people's lives.

I am a middle school art teacher and a meditation/mindfulness practitioner. Before college, I had only taken an art class in elementary school. I doodled the comics (mostly Garfield), did NOT draw all the time, and did not have an encouraging family to support my art curiosity. Somehow, I still went for it.... art school made sure to let me know how far behind in knowledge I was...especially during critique.