I’m currently the CEO of an agency called Omelet. Yes, like the delicious breakfast item. I started my career as an ice skating coach in a food court in San Diego. At 17, I started navigating what “running your own business” was about - "marketing" and all - as an independent contractor. I was fortunate enough to train future Olympians under the comforting wafts of the Sbarro pizza and Panda Express while attending university full-time. Teaching toddlers through adults how to navigate ice on a couple of thin blades is a metaphor that’s never left me. Those lessons learned as a coach are ones I’ve carried deeply into my career. From there, I proceeded to have a few other lives - as a preschool teacher and direct marketing manager (selling coupons in direct mailers to small businesses), almost went down a path of being a Sarbanes Oxley consultant (I had a weird love for big business compliance), but *somehow* landed in advertising. It’s been an incredible journey as a strategist. From getting clients “on” social media early early in my career; to repositioning global brands; to finding new ways for Justin Bieber’s fans to connect his brand; to conducting huge studies on the impact of digital on car purchasing for one of the world’s biggest automotive brands; to finding interesting new ways for people to connect to toilet paper (yes, toilet paper) and many (many) more stories. There was truly never a dull moment as a strategist. As CEO of Omelet, I bring the same commitment to interdisciplinary interests and skills with a keen focus on being a future-forward leader to one of the most creative companies I’ve ever been a part of. My mission in my career has always been to democratize business for creative people - and the inverse, make creativity more accessible to business - and in this role I’m truly able to flex on both. In the world we live in, being a successful agency CEO looks very different from any time before. Being an agency CEO of a growing and changing company is an exercise in being open to new things, trying new ways of working and ultimately being perfectly ok with being very imperfect. I’m incredibly proud of what the team at Omelet has created and I’m incredibly fortunate to be a part of our growth story. A strong advocate for representation in our industry, I continue to beat the drum of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I believe one of the most important things I can do is to bring these conversations to the forefront in our industry and culture at large.