Hospitality, client service, program/event planning, and making a difference are part of my DNA. My love for serving others, making an impact in my community, and building business skills began early. As a teen, I held backyard carnivals to raise money to fight cancer. These carnivals were grassroots events. I started learning about event planning, customer service, sales, fundraising, and marketing. I lost multiple family members to this pervasive disease, so the cause was and continues to be personal. When my children were little I shared with them my backyard carnival stories. Flash forward to when they were in late elementary school. After learning that my good friend was diagnosed with Lymphoma, my daughter approached me with an idea. She wanted to host a carnival to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to help my friend. Yeah... teaching empathy works!We began the "Carnival of Caring" held at the Libertyville Sports Complex including "real" carnival games - complete with the red and white striped carnival fronts and a dozen huge inflatables. It was fortuitous that I worked for an entertainment company at the time.I like to exceed expectations and provide high-quality results that make a difference for others. Working for Franklin Covey (as in Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) took my already organized and detailed self to another level. My career has spanned various roles in hotels, event venues, retail, senior living and higher education. However, the themes remain the same: Take extraordinary care of your clients, put forth exceptional work, communicate effectively and openly, care about the people that surround you, be positive, genuine and creative.One of my personal passions is advocating for the stigmas to be lessened/eliminated about mental health through learning and conversations. In my personal experiences, I have seen the impact of depression and anxiety and know the pain of losing a loved one. At age 26, I lost my dad to suicide. One of my life goals is to continue turning my passion into mental health action and education.I really enjoy working out in group classes like Zumba, Pilates and yoga. I also love traveling (which is why I went into the hospitality business as my major), crafting, and most importantly, spending time with my family and friends. My favorite quote is "May you live all the days of your life."