TRAVELING - IT LEAVES YOU SPEECHLESS,
THEN TURNS YOU INTO A STORYTELLER.
- Ibn Battuta
I lived in Cairo, Egypt and worked as the deputy manager editor of the largest, English-language publishing company in the Middle East. Central China was home while I served as a travel magazine editor. While employed by Holland America Line, my humble abode was the crew quarters aboard one of the fleet’s luxury cruise ships. The tiny crew cabins were certainly a step up from the mud-wall hut with a thatched roof that sheltered me in Sierra Leone during my time working as the director of information for a non-profit organization.
My geographical wanderings have provided me with a unique perspective on life, which I have capitalized on in my professional life.
Sydney, Australia - International public relations event that I organized. Goal was raise awareness about the mud volcano in Indonesia (LUSI) through the premiere of the documentary “Mud Max”. Reception, screening and a panel of 12 int’l scientists/researchers.
Visiting Al Fateh Grand Mosque in Manama
Covering the Grand Prix - Formula One
Covering the Grand Prix - Formula One. A press pass is the ticket to get up close.
Global Progressive Forum. Meeting with the Danish Prime Minister in my role as Director of Information for the 21st Century African Youth Movement.
St. Maarten - Fort Louis. Enjoying some time off the cruise ship
Tortola - Enjoying some time off the cruise ship
Presenting at the Shanghai Foreign Language School
Great Wall
Nanjing
Teaching a 5th grade class
Heng Mao - my home
Making dumplings
Prague Castle in the background
My Story
Once upon a time, in the rural sprawl of Wisconsin farmland, there lived a young girl. She loved to read. If she wasn't reading, she was writing her own stories.
The years flew by and soon she was graduating as Valedictorian and on her way to University of Wisconsin - Madison on a full-ride academic scholarship to major in communications. A degree that took her around the world (and eventually to her Prince Charming).
Truth be told, my life isn't a fairytale, but it has been quite marvelous! I feel incredibly blessed with where this journey of life has taken me thus far.
I know I am one of the fortunate few who truly loves her line of work.
For almost ten years, on a near daily basis I would probe the densest of research papers in search of newsworthy stories to make palatable, even interesting, to the average Joe. As the director of marketing and communications for the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, the largest public research university in the U.S., that was my job. Well, it was one piece of my multi-faceted job.
Asking NPR, Wired, TIME, Discovery, and the like to cover the great stories going on in our school isn't what I had always done. I moved to the Southwest from a different desert region: the Sahara.
I lived in Cairo, Egypt and worked for the largest, English-language publishing company in the Middle East. The beats I covered ranged from politics to human interest stories ... like George Clooney's relief efforts in Darfur. (That certainly was my favorite interview, but ranking right up there was test driving the latest line of Mercedes in the Sinai Desert and reviewing posh new resorts and upscale restaurants.)
Try as I might to perfect my Mandarin speaking skills, a year into my Chinese odyssey my "ni hao" was still greeted with giggles. Home during that incredible period of time was Nanchang, a city of 5 million in Jiangxi Province. I was an editor of a travel magazine and I taught English (to Ford Motor Company employees and some extraordinary grade school kids).
Prior to my stint in Asia, I lived and worked on cruise ships in the Caribbean. Deep in the belly of the ship, far below the surface where there are no windows, the crew resides. Those cramped crew quarters were certainly a step up from the mud-wall hut with a thatched roof that sheltered me in Sierra Leone during my time working as the director of information for a non-profit organization.
I worked 'normal' jobs too. I helped U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin (now a Senator) get re-elected, and I cut my teeth in management at a call center that placed calls for the deaf. I had 60+ direct reports.
The global gallivanting can be attributed to an adventurous spirit. However, the professional success I've enjoyed is the result of dedication, creativity, optimism, and my ability to communicate − even across language barriers.