Surfing, baseball, cycling and golf are activities that I love doing during my leisure time. I enjoy the Zen meets competitive aspect. More so though, I thrive on the grit, passion, determination, and strength required of each. Every activity demands strategic thinking, but often requires a quick change to achieve optimal outcomes. These same qualities are key influencers in my professional life as well. During my decades of experience, I learned that passion is the most important trait of being happy and successful as a leader. Using this passion has allowed me to evaluate and build short-term and long-term approaches in multiple industries – not-for-profit, higher education, public radio, and the military/veterans/first-responder space. While many of the activities above require self-discipline, I am also a strong believer of working as a team. Creating collaborative environments, trusting people to do their jobs, empowering staff, giving credit where credit is due, and providing support and guidance are all values that I take to heart.