I grew up in a small town in the Sierra foothills and worked in my family’s from an early age. My experience at that business exposed me to many different people from diverse backgrounds. As a young adult I pursued my dream of becoming a hair stylist. I relocated to Los Angeles in the mid 1980’s and after years of hard work and networking I opened my own hair salon. This enabled me to hone my entrepreneurial skills while meeting incredible people and become involved with many charities and nonprofit organizations. For the past eight years I had the experience of working on the board of directors for Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles. HHCLA provides services including harm reduction, healthcare, housing and mental health primarily for at-risk people living on Skid Row .Recently, I co-founded the Oddo Family Foundation with my husband, Michael Oddo. Our Foundation focuses on scholarships for families who work in the building services industry. I currently reside in Berkeley, California with my husband. My eldest daughter, Annabelle, is a public elementary school teacher in Oakland, California. My youngest daughter, Magnolia, attends Emerson College, majoring in film. Tragically, our family’s son and brother, Marlon, lost his life to a drug overdose in 2009. As a result I am actively engaged in harm reduction and finding ways to help families who have lost loved ones to overdose.