I've been a reading tutor and a general volunteer, and then became a member of Women United, an affinity group of United Way, in 2015 where I happily remain an active member and leader.

I am a member of a vibrant board of directors who work to advance our mission of providing camping to people with disabilities at a reasonable cost. We spend a lot of time raising money so we can continue to offer modern camping activities for kids and adults who otherwise wouldn't have access to fun things like swimming, boating, rock climbing, ropes courses, archery, bb guns, fishing, and campfires. We also provide respite to parents and other caregivers; while their campers are with us they're often getting their only week of rest for the year. I was board chair for the calendar years 2013 through 2016. My sister, Jill Wilke, served as board chair as well and is now the professional Executive Director of the camp, and we are proud to continue the legacy of our grandparents, Charles J. Miller and Alice Inskeep Miller, who founded the camp in 1969.

I had the amazing opportunity to teach two semesters of 6-credit-hour college-prep English courses for international and American students who needed that final boost of college-level reading, writing, speaking and listening curriculum to prepare them for traditional collegiate courses.

Through the United Way of Lake County's wonderful program, "Reading Success," I did reading tutoring with children in first and second grades at a Waukegan Elementary School in 2010. That experience led to six long-term substitute teaching assignments for teachers who were out on maternity leave and medical leave, including one for six months and another for nine months. It was an incredibly challenging and eye-opening experience that has truly changed the way I view our responsibilities to our society.

I led 250 amazing employees around the U.S. and Canada who served 250 clients in the Fortune 500 at any given time generating about $75 million in revenue per year.

I led a great group of associates who helped large companies in the U.S. Midwest communicate about what it meant to work there.

I consulted with large companies to help them show their employees why they should work there and do their best every day.