I will begin with a story about a significant point in my life that ultimately led me here. Several years ago, I learned that a close family member was going through a divorce. That really rocked me. I am a child of divorced parents, and I understand that things can happen and change, but this hit differently. I felt pushed to dig, to seek the Truth, and to explore how a couple of work friends (who became very dear friends) studied math and science so intensely through Ph.D. programs and still believed in God. To me, science and religion were almost always mutually exclusive. Christopher Wells is one of those friends, who I cannot begin to thank enough, for his spiritual mentorship. I learned more about my relationship with my Creator and about myself than I ever could have imagined. My views and previous understandings flipped and turned more times than I can count. It has been life-changing.

My family has since healed and grown, and while that divorce was tragic, it was a huge catalyst for me to learn more about my relationship with God. I have found that there are many things that I like and appreciate about Catholicism, but I have also experienced the beauty of worship in non-Catholic churches. One of those churches was First Baptist Church of Kennett Square, where I met Pastor Dan. I will pause the story there, but I am happy to talk in more detail about it for anyone interested.

A bit about my family: I met my husband, John, twenty-four years ago (we have been married for seventeen). He is my best friend and biggest supporter. Together we have two beautiful boys: Blake and Holden. John and I met when I was in high school, went to college together, and worked in a restaurant together while in college.

Now, on to the boring stuff. I was born just outside of Miami, FL, later moved to Raleigh, NC, and finally Wilmington, DE. I attended St. Mark’s High School and went on to the University of Delaware, where I got my bachelor’s degree in accounting. Next, I earned my CPA and worked at a local CPA firm for six years. After that, I took a job in an internal finance department at a pharmaceutical company for two years, where I learned that I did not aspire to be a CFO one day. After a long job search, I found a non-accounting role at Chatham Financial in Kennett Square. I get to work with market data, tech, financial models, quants, business units, and product managers every day, and I am coming up on ten years there. Creating and leading a team for the last six of those years has been my greatest challenge and fulfillment professionally.

In addition to spending time with my family, I have been fortunate to find joy through volunteer work. That began with walking dogs at Faithful Friends Animal Society. I served on the board of the Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance, The Pet Project, and am currently serving as treasurer of The Garage Community and Youth Center. Last fall I began teaching CFP at Resurrection Parish. Additionally, I love to read and have geeked out over most of the Marvel movies.

One of the things that drew me to A Place in the Conversation, is that it is about bringing people together. We are all on a journey, and how much more wonderful would that journey be if we could respect, communicate, and learn from each other, especially when we disagree or see things differently?