The character traits that are typically used to describe me are inventive yet pragmatic, passionate and enthusiastic, seasoned with a liberal dose of adventure.
I am a native of Vancouver, BC, Canada. Born the fifth of six children, necessity taught me a lasting appreciation for creativity, negotiation, diplomacy, and perseverance. As you can imagine in such a large household, there wasn't a lot of spare money to go around; particularly as it trickled its way down to me. This meant rather than Mom or Dad purchasing for me the trending toy, gadget, or piece of equipment, I had to build my own fun. From this I learned the value of foundational learning. In investing my time in understanding the basis of how something worked, my youthful fabrication efforts in 'building my own fun' were very often well rewarded.
Fast forward to today, I remain an avid learner. My reading materials primarily focus on the subjects of business intelligence & strategy, marketing, sales and leadership. Favorite authors include freelance writer Thomas Friedman, and Peter Senge founder of the Society for Organizational Learning. Some of my most dog-eared books include Flatworld, Good to Great, The Starfish and the Spider and Egonomics. Among other associations, I am a member of the Business Development Institute (BDI) and the eMarketing Association (eMA) where I contribute my professional insight in the member forums.
Free time is most often spent digging in the garden, cycling, cooking with my husband and traveling. Below is a fun video I made with some of my favorite travel pictures from a backpacking trip through Israel and Egypt.