1

Like every other person, Ihave ranging interests, thoughts, and skills. I believe in engaging my whole being in whatever it is I’m doing because in embracing the totality of my being I bring my best. So, here’s a glimpse of what makes me, me and the ‘me’ I will bring to the StartingBloc network.

2

I <3 numbers and spreadsheets. I make

spreadsheets for just about anything, and numbers, especially in

spreadsheets, can tell powerful stories and inform decisions. I

would much rather prove a point through figures than writing it out.

#’s RC L8

3

I’m easily inspired by everything around me – people, news, art, nature, culture, business. One word can trigger a cascade of thoughts. As a result, my mind is constantly buzzing with new ideas. I keep a journal at home and a folder at work to develop and keep track of all my ideas. Some ideas I’m current developing/researching are:

Brillian

t!

Micro-social business workshops

Alternative microfinancing and credit building program

Young non-profit professionals book share program

Refugee/immigrant clothing manufacturing and professional development social enterprise

4

An overflow of my ideas often manifests itself in arts & crafts. I’m no Martha Stewart or Henri Matisse, but creating visual interest with my hands proves to be an important catharsis for me.

5

Design thinking is a new term I have recently learned. I am elated to find that it exists

because since being president of Future Business Leaders of

America in high school, I naturally apply the principles

of design thinking to all my work. I am continually thinking

about the end user, the available technology, and the

ROI whenever I create new protocols or develop new

programs.

6

I love learning! I love learning about new technologies, companies, trends, current events, languages, and the list goes on. After I learn something super cool, I always spread the knowledge around.

7

The causes closest to my heart…

Education: K-12 and access to

post-secondary

Refugees: their experience in refugee

camps and in their new country

Teenagers: the empowerment of

teenage girls to know their self-worth

Children: particularly homeless & foster

children and orphans

8

Some days I want be like Ina Garten, a former White House nuclear policy analyst

turned gourmet chef. I believe sharing meals is sacred and important. I seldom

give myself the time to enjoy the process of cooking and

eating good food with family and friends, but when I do I enjoy every moment – even

doing the dishes!

9

I spent the summer of 2007 coordinating service trips in St. Louis. I met some AMAZING people who remain my inspirations.

VIRGINIA, after obtaining her PhD, left the world of prestige to dedicate her life to working at a homeless shelter. She probably worked 80 hours a week, but never complained. She viewed her work as a privilege.

JOSH runs a ministry for inner-city children and teenagers. He lives on-site in an old, rundown monastery with his wife and young child. Within a three-block radius of his ministry, the majority of the murders in St. Louis occur.

10

I believe that we are all created to be productive individuals, to take care of this earth, to delight in

good food and water, to enjoy each other, tolove, to laugh, and to marvel

at the creation around us. But that’s not the world we live in.

It’s unjust, disharmonious, and competitive. The

restoration of each person’s identity to how we were

created to be motivates me to change the world.