Motto/mantra/favorite quote?
"Two wrongs don't make a right." - Roald Dahl
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
"When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid" - Audre Lorde
What is the greatest challenge you have had to overcome in your life thus far? Losing my dad when I was in my 20s was incredibly difficult. He was our family's glue. Losing my first child was devastating and something I'll never get over. However, professionally, it would have to be returning to work after 15 years at home raising my 5 kids. I basically had to start over professionally in my early 40s.
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Any place with sunshine, sand, and warm ocean water! I absolutely love the beach.
What is your favorite hobby? I love to read. It is my escape, my Zen, my happy place. It calms me, centers me, and keeps me focused on things outside of myself.
What is the best book you have ever read? I generally read one to two books a week, so it's hard to narrow it down to just one book, but one that comes to mind is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.
Are you involved with any charities or non-profits? I support St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, the United Way, the Organ Donor Registry and the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Number one thing on your bucket list? I don't really have a bucket list. If all of my children are happy and healthy, and I can afford to comfortably retire to someplace warm and sunny, that's really enough. If I make it to that place, I may attempt to write a novel - or I might just lie on the beach and read one.
What would you do (for a career) if you weren't doing this? If I was not at ARGI, I would be doing interior design and decorative painting. I am an artist at heart.
If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be? I have always admired Helen Gurley Brown, a successful author, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years, and a champion for women "having it all". I would love to emulate her life and be a book or magazine editor.
What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13? Stop worrying about what other people think. You cannot please everyone. Stand up for yourself. (I still need to remember those things at age 50)!
How do you define success? Success is being happy with who you are, what you are doing, and the people you are doing it with.
