1. What was your very first job?
Most kids start with a lemonade stand. I started with a worm stand. My Grandfather and I would dig for night crawlers, package them in containers and then I’d sell them to fishermen.
2. What’s your favorite weekend activity?
Every Friday night we watch a family movie. Saturday mornings I sleep past 4:25am and drink my coffee from a mug – slowly. After that, bring on the adventure.
3. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Susan B. Anthony for her commitment to equal pay, ending slavery and women’s suffrage. Madeleine Albright for being the ultimate working mother as first woman Secretary of State. Trey Anastasio the lead vocalist and guitarist from Phish just to earn some street cred with my kids and husband.
4. If you had to choose, what’s one of your favorite job responsibilities? Why?
My favorite responsibility is my primary responsibility - bringing in work. The long sales cycle of a construction project makes every closed deal very rewarding. I enjoy building relationships with a diverse group of clients and consultants. Learning about so many different businesses, their unique offerings and pain points and then figuring out how NEC can make an impact on their business definitely makes for a very exciting day job.
5. What’s one of your favorite past projects you’ve worked on at NEC?
Construction-wise I enjoy the “behind the scenes” view I get when pursuing a specific project. It’s exciting to be in a movie theater knowing we are going to transform it into an LA Fitness or the food court of RI Mall knowing that we are about to de-mall the entire structure. Leadership-wise I am definitely excited about what we are doing RIGHT NOW. We are implementing an entrepreneurial operating system to streamline our best practices and build on our inherent core values. This project will have a company-wide impact creating a win-win for employees and clients.
6. What are 3 words to describe NEC?
Family, Commitment, Honest
7. What advice would you give a new NEC team member on their first day?
There is ALWAYS a speed trap on Roger Williams Ave. Seriously, slow down EVERY DAY.
8. If you had to give one piece of advice on happiness, what would it be?
A client recently recommended the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown and the sub title is “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.” A husband, two kids and a career certainly have their demands. Essentialism is about doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. For me happiness is approaching each day with gratitude that I have the opportunity to live a life that I choose!
