Human

Witch

Cat Wrangler

Writer

A little bit about me

I am a writer, speaker, and consultant focused on empowering people, communities, and organizations facing transformation opportunities. I am an advisor to Chicago’s 2nd Story and formerly served on the board of Critical Mass: the Young Adult Cancer Alliance. My blog HairOptional.com was started to share updates about my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with family and friends and continued after I was declared cancer-free to dispatch reports from the wilderness of survivorship. In 2018, my remarkable husband, Michael, our two adorable cats, and I transplanted ourselves from Chicago to the Hudson River Valley, where I now serve as an elected trustee for the Village of Rhinebeck and occasional whoopie pie baker for Samuel’s Sweet Shop. WAIT, IT GETS WORSE is my first book.

A bit more about me

My storytelling, volunteering, and consulting combine my skills and experience to support humanity’s connectedness, creativity, and advancement. A survivor of multiple health challenges, I am dedicated to helping people recognize, accept, and thrive inside transformation and transition. My clear-eyed acceptance of the reality of my own situation, combined with my sarcastic yet gracious sense of humor, grants others the ability to access the upheaval that I felt and feel every day, so that they can approach their own work with calm grace.

Once upon a time, I was a corporate lawyer in Chicago focused on bankruptcy and restructuring. I served Governor Patrick in Massachusetts as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Finance where I oversaw the state’s response to failing cities and towns. I have sat on nonprofit boards and advised for-purpose organizations that focus on young adult cancer, women’s empowerment, the environment, and storytelling for over 15 years.

I studied design at Harvard, covered most of the world in my travels, hold a BA with honors in Urban Studies and Business Economics from Brown University, and am a graduate of Northwestern University’s JD-MBA program.