My career actually started at age 7, learning and working in my mom's pottery business (later known as Smoky Mountain Pottery). I traveled around the country every summer and during various holidays to do retail shows and eventually wholesale gift shows. When my dad joined the business in the 1980s (after a corporate/ international executive career in engineering and quality control), we grew to:

• Three retail stores.

• Hundreds of wholesale accounts (including Cracker Barrel, Disney, Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, and Dollywood).

• 40 Employees.

• Several sales teams around the country.

My dad upgraded and formalized many systems, and I became his right hand, helping oversee payroll, marketing, customer service, employee relations, and many of the day-to-day operations of a growing family business. While I knew I would eventually move on to other career choices, what I learned during those years in the family business (and from my dad specifically) was invaluable … how to lead, how not to lead, and what matters to people. Those experiences shaped how I think about leadership, the importance of sound systems, and the kind of organizational cultures where people can truly do their best work. They also sparked a desire to help other leaders build healthy, effective organizations.

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Since leaving the family business, I've had the opportunity to work in and with nonprofits, associations, higher education, and mission-driven organizations. Along the way, I've led projects, supported organizational change, recruited talent, coached leaders, and helped teams work more effectively together.

 

Outside of my professional roles, I've continued to invest in organizations that develop leaders and strengthen communities. Over the past 30 years, I've served on the Boards of the following organizations: Toastmasters, CBODN (Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network), ATD-DC (Association for Talent Development-DC Chapter), MAFN (Mid-Atlantic Facilitators Network), and in leadership roles with Compass Pro Bono, NOVA SHRM (Northern Virginia Society for Human Resource Management), and STC-ETC (Society for Technical Communication/East Tennessee Chapter). Pictures from some of those experiences are on this page.  

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Looking back, the thread connecting every chapter of my career is simple: I enjoy helping people and organizations become more effective. Whether I was helping run a family business, leading a volunteer organization, coaching an executive, or improving a process, the work has always been about creating clarity, building trust, and helping others move forward.

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The experiences that shaped me early in life continue to influence how I work today—listening carefully, finding clarity in complexity, and helping people move forward with confidence.

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If you're navigating a challenge that would benefit from a trusted thought partner, I'd welcome a conversation.

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