Back when the ice caps were finally melting, I started my career as a Canadian Customs inspector at the Canada-US border. It is where I met my American husband - a U.S. Customs inspector at the time. I like to think that we ARE the bilateral relationship which Ottawa and Washington always speak about. Since then however, I have dedicated my entire professional life to the cross-border business environment - knowing the community, understanding their distinct challenges and being able "to tell their story" at the policy and advocacy levels. My goal now is to ensure that leaders in both countries truly understand what the stakes are and the importance of keeping the focus on the vibrant marketplace we have created in the NA marketplace, one which is now faced with competitive forces not seen in years past.