For as long as I can remember, I have had a fixation and an aptitude for connection.

At age nine, I started a neighborhood newspaper, The Green Oaks Times. Under my own recognizance, I printed a sample on yellow DOT Matrix printer paper and hit the sidewalks. In one day, I locked in a dozen subscribers at $5 a month. The unknowing managing partners, my parents, weren't convinced I had a solid publication strategy, and they made me return the cash. My parent's practicality might have gotten the best of that idea, but it didn't stop me from spending the rest of my life working to connect with others through stories, ideas, and experiences.

I firmly believe in the universe, and that the energy I give is reflected in me, so I choose to be positive and make every act intentional. My words are my strength, so I let my voice be heard. I do things because I believe in them. I wake up every morning with one goal: to be present in all that I do. I am an athlete with a self-motivating, competitive spirit that compels me. Inclusion is a tenant that drives my role on any team I play on. I am obsessed with progress. I am impossibly curious; it drives my desire to innovate. I live with passion and purpose and strive to participate in and stand for organizations and people that reflect those values.

My creative leadership philosophy is guided by two characteristics: warmth and predictability. My creative superpowers are persistence and synthesizing. I am a hopeless optimist with a brain hardwired to see potential. I always operate with an abundance mentality, and collaboration is my baseline. I am never not seeking wisdom, so I am in a constant state of seeking, listening and learning. Empathy and a high threshold for stress make me an extremely productive individual.

Personal mantras:

• Never not planning.

• Move slow to move fast.

• Hope is not a strategy.

Mother, wife, sister, daughter, auntie, friend.