“My greatest wealth is in the deep stillness in which I strive and grow and win what the world cannot take from me with fire or sword.” Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

I started retooling and rewiring in 2010, after working 25 years with Southern Company, on top of 20 years in various other work settings. While at Southern, most notably Alabama Power Company, I held various executive-level positions including senior vice president human resources and chief diversity officer, vice president talent management, vice president division operations, and vice president customer service and call center operations.  Moving from a starting position of management development analyst in human resources to human resources management, then to customer operations, and on to executive management, required a lot of hard work and focus.  Just so we don’t get confused, it also required a lot of faith and prayers from others and me.  It required being mentored and sponsored.  It required my presence at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.

My leadership and the professional journey started with employment as a community center manager for the City of Jacksonville, Florida.  Other positions I have held include personnel and benefits specialist for Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s Offshore Power Systems; assistant campaign director with United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta; and consultant with Coleman Management Consultants.

As a child growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, I learned the value of community service.  It is important to me personally and professionally.  I have held significant community service and economic development positions with chambers of commerce and economic development boards.  I am an alumna of Leadership Jacksonville, Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Mobile, Leadership Birmingham, and Leadership Alabama.  Over the years, I have served on numerous non-profit boards and was privileged to serve on the Board of Governors at Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1999, I was selected as one of 14 women internationally for the acclaimed Leadership Foundation Fellows Program of the International Women’s Forum (IWF).  In 2012, I was elected to IWF’s Global Board of Directors. It was my distinct honor to serve three consecutive terms on the Global Board, representing 7,000 members. I remain actively connected to the global organization and IWF Georgia.

I am a graduate of Jacksonville University (Florida) with a degree in Political Science and Government; and, a graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Business - Advanced Management, International Senior Managers Program (AMP 157).

Harvard’s international program and IWF fueled my passion for cross-cultural learning through study and travel.