About Me
The Professional Journey
With 43 years in HR leadership, I've coached executives, shaped cultures, and transformed organizations across industries and continents. My journey has taken me to Latin America for six years, across five continents for business, through complex mergers and acquisitions, and into countless leadership development programs.
As a certified leadership development trainer with Development Dimensions International, I've facilitated workshops with teams across diverse geographic and company cultures. Those moments when insight clicks - when someone truly sees themselves clearly for the first time—that's what I live for.
But traditional HR tools have their limits. Competency models, performance improvement plans, generic training programs - they only scratch the surface. When I became a certified CliftonStrengths Coach in 2022, everything shifted.
Now I combine four decades of leadership experience with Strengths-based coaching. I help individuals discover what makes them exceptional and guide teams to leverage their collective talents.
The CliftonStrengths framework reveals not just individual gifts, but how groups align or differ in style and approach —transforming potential conflict into genuine cooperation. This isn't academic theory. It's practical strategy forged in real-world experience. When you work with me, you get insights from someone who's been in the trenches, knows what actually works, and is fully committed to your success.
The Personal Story
One of my eight grandchildren once called me a "wild woman". I'll take it. Born in New Mexico, I joined a missionary group straight out of high school and traveled to Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Mexico before marrying and launching my HR career in California. Those years living abroad—learning new cultures and three dialects of Spanish—expanded my worldview in ways that shaped everything that followed.
Early in my career, a retiring HR executive became my mentor. He told me I had "it"— the qualities needed to excel in the profession. I'm grateful he saw Strengths in me I couldn't yet see in myself.
My path took me through electronics, then high-tech optics and laser manufacturing in mid-size companies. After our acquisition by a large South African multinational, I traveled extensively to the UK, Europe, and South Africa. I also visited China during the early days of technology offshoring.
Along the way, I consulted with Paul Mitchell Schools and a California jewelry retailer, then joined a healthcare nonprofit. I earned my SPHR (Senior Professional in HR) certification in 2000, and in 2015, completed my degree in Organizational Psychology at Concordia University in Irvine, California.
The program was perfectly designed for working professionals—every assignment drew on real experience. My thesis explored the aging Baby Boomer population and the growing critical importance of hospice care. Almost prophetically, my most recent role was VP of HR with a South Carolina hospice provider that grew from 300 employees in 1 state to 3,000 employees across 10 states during my 6-year tenure. The past few years, people asked when I would retire. Anyone who knows me knows I could never simply stop doing what I love.
With my husband's encouragement, I've chosen a different path: continuing to help people discover their best selves and develop the skills to leverage their Strengths toward whatever they envision. These days, I live near Greenville, South Carolina, where I balance my coaching practice with time for what matters most—my loved ones and this beautiful place I call home.
