Professional
I enjoy working with people and teams with a diverse set of skills and perspectives, and I especially enjoy the dynamic synergy which often resides between the creative and the technical.
During my career I’ve had the good fortune of holding positions within start-up entrepreneurial companies in the healthcare and consulting industries. These fast-paced environments taught me to be a nimble and strategic thinker while continuously evolving my creative, leadership and technical skills.
I’ve often been hands-on in software platforms and code. This allows me to stay connected to the work of the team and involved with technical spec and advances. My curiosity about how things work has been instrumental in forging deeper collaborative relationships with colleagues and vendor partners that at times have resulted in meaningful product or process improvements.
Personal
Formative
I grew up influenced by science and art. My father was a chemical engineer and later a business executive, and my mother is an artist. I believe the dichotomy and influence of my parents is why I tend to be a hybrid of left-brain and right-brain in my approach to things. At my core I’m both creative and analytical, and I enjoy approaching and thinking about things from more than one perspective.
For a time when I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up. I thought a lot about this and hyper-romanticized my plans. The idea that this would be a cool occupation was also influenced by hanging out with my grandfather, who was also a chemical engineer working on developing and enhancing jet engines at GE.
Eventually, I began to gravitate toward the visual arts and information architecture, but I still think about how cool it is that humans have the ability to fly around our planet and beyond, and the responsibility of that. Peace out to all the pilots and astronauts!
Spare Time/ Home
I live near Chicago with my husband and a few cats (typically one too many). And make no mistake, it is my husband who is the cat person in the family.
My down time pursuits include spending time with family and friends, fitness (outdoors whenever possible), reading, growing things at a community garden and exploring the local forest preserves.
As much as I love my iPad and digital magazines and papers – Wired, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, NY Times; when it comes to books I prefer to hold and read the paper versions. I like novels and historical novels, and books written by chefs. Also biographies but no particular genre – Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln, Coco Channel.
