Authentic Finnish sauna is nothing new: it's a deeply human experience that has been practiced for thousands of years. While this practice is ancient, in North America we're just starting to understand how beneficial sauna can be. The enormous impact sauna businesses could have on our health and culture has many eager entrepreneurs creatively iterating ways to bring sauna to the market with little to no roadmap. What I do is coordinate, coach, and create coursework for a 6-month program that brings early stage sauna business entrepreneurs together along with industry experts. Over the course of the program we work to educate entrepreneurs on the realities of the current market, work through vision to forecast sustainable business models, get real about start up costs, provide insight on approaching regulatory bodies, take the mystery out of daily operations, and get real about what it takes to provide profitable experiences. I'm passionate about sauna and its growth in the United States. If you're thinking about opening a sauna business let's talk!

Cedar and Stone was on a mission to bring their first luxury sauna experience to the Minneapolis market during the dead of winter and they needed a leader that could execute the vision. They already had a beautiful wood fired sauna, a wood fired hot tub, a sauna completely constructed out of ice, and a dreamy hospitality partner that let them set up shop on their highly trafficked patio. But they needed a leader that could quickly build a team to offer a high ticket experience along with the operations to support it. My experience in luxury hospitality along with my long standing dream of opening a sauna business were the perfect match for the occasion. I hired, trained, and managed the team, coordinated vendors, worked collaboratively with our hospitality partner, handled media (newspaper, TV, influencers), problem solved a million unexpected situations, and most importantly provided a beautiful experience that left people truly relaxed and alive during the Minnesota winter. This was the beginning of my working relationship with Cedar and Stone. Over half the team we built on this project are now key leaders in the business.

As the initial shock of the pandemic wore off in 2020 Ralph Lauren brought back only its strongest team members to reimagine its flagship coffee experience in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I served as one of the key leaders that rebuilt our team and operations to serve a luxury experience that was both elegant and covid safe. Despite projections of low numbers we built back our business and team to beat pre-pandemic records and used the opportunity to establish ourselves as one of the top hospitality locations in the area.

Most people don’t know that Ralph Lauren has a coffee brand and even those that do probably don’t know that the company has outfitted a vintage truck to serve espresso drinks and hot chocolate right under the Christmas tree on the plaza of Rockefeller Center. That’s an image, isn't it? While incredibly photo worthy and endearingly charming the operations that are required to uphold the polish of a brand like RL and meet the intense demand of an iconic location like Rock Center while delivering product with the capacity of a food truck was a master class in business to say the least. I took the lead as the holiday season approached to streamline operations and help supercharge an already exceptional team to run hurdles over challenges and hit company wide records of sales. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.

Manage a staff of 8 in a high volume rapidly growing third wave coffee shop. Responsible for the creation, implementation, and growth of systems that have lead to quadrupling daily sales and creating efficiency and ease in providing excellent customer service. Liaison between owners and staff to problem solve and work towards resolutions. Handles hiring, training, scheduling, inventory and ordering.

Implemented and managed the focus of fundraising for a well known radical community theatre, which included building a membership program, updating donor records, handwritten thank you notes, networking, planning and hosting events, coordinating volunteers, attending board meetings, creating video and social media promotional content, writing copy for website and email blasts, training staff, facilitating meetings and cultivating major donors.

Taught in 40+ Minneapolis Public Schools in all subjects and to all ages. Regularly requested as a long call reserve teacher in many high schools and special education programs. Appointed to the Safety and Security Team at Thomas Edison High School as a disciplinarian, escort, and positive role model.