I often describe myself as a 63-year-old grandmother. I was born in Logan County, Ohio in 1960. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, but John F. Kennedy was elected president that year, taking office the following January. My family moved to southern Indiana when I was 8 years old. I lived there until I turned 16, moving to Long Island, New York, and graduating high school there.
I went to college on a part-time basis for the next 15 years, graduating with honors from the University of Louisville in 1993. It took about half that amount of time to earn an MBA from Strayer University!
I got married in 1982, and my daughter was born one-and-a-half years later. I went to work at H&R Block as a part-time tax professional in 1983 and spent 27 years there, earning successive promotions, culminating as Regional Director in San Francisco, California. I moved to Tennessee in 2009 and founded The UPS Store franchise in Mt. Juliet. I sold the business in 2017 and spent a year in retirement.
During that retirement year, I volunteered at my granddaughter’s Montessori preschool, and I fell in love with the work. I enrolled in a Montessori teacher training program, earning certification in early childhood education, and I spent four years working full-time as a Montessori guide.
I previously served as Acting Chair and Vice-Chair of the Wilson County Democratic Party and as Treasurer of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women. I am the Immediate Past Chair of the Wilson County Democratic Women.
I am a 2013 Graduate and former Board Member of Leadership Wilson, a former Ambassador and Board Member of the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce, a former Community Board Member of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville Wilson Division, and a former Volunteer Tutor at The Adult Learning Center in Lebanon.
In my spare time, I enjoy playing the piano and violin and hanging out with my daughter and granddaughter.