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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 55 Do you think women have an advantage in being naturally more empathetic in dealing with other women? Yes, as a female financial advisor there is a natural tendency towards relationship management, understanding and connection. ere needs to be a great comfort level and willingness to listen and ask questions—there's no question that's too small. ere's a great bond that happens when you are genuinely concerned and connect with a client. So, you have a daughter. How old is she? I do, Bella. She's eight-years-old, and she's so fun! She's our lile super girl. My husband and I are so proud when we witness positive social interactions with her peers, and her great deal of empathy to those around her, especially given that she's an only child. How did your work life shift after having your daughter? Early in my career I understood the merits of work ing on a team. So aer starting a family, that was the natural next phase in my career development. Soon aer I transitioned to Morgan Stanley, I reached out to two key advisors who shared a similar high level of experience and client-ser vice mindset, and we've been together for almost ten years. In addition to being able to provide var ying specialties for our clients, being on a team allowed me to have a successful work-life balance aer having our daughter. I know that you're involved in Girls Inc.. Can you share a little what brought you to that organization? About ten years ago I was exposed to Girls Inc. on a site visit and was absolutely blown away by the organization and what they were doing. It's inspiring how they're helping empower and support young girls, as demonstrated in their mission of creating strong , smart and bold young women. So it was a great honor to receive the Girls Inc., "She K nows Where She's Going" award at this year's luncheon. What kind of message would you like to give back to girls today to help them in finding their way? I always say, "Find the yes." When obstacles come your way, they may be momentarily distracting , but put your energ y and hard work into finding the solution. In addition, you can do any thing you put your mind to. Oen times this involves reaching out to your network, and look ing to mentors, who are usually more than willing to guide you. Balancing a marriage, a family and a successful financial career can be tough—what have been some of the challenges for you? It's definitely all about finding a balance. I find that I focus on work, family, and friends, and at times self-care can get lost in the shuffle. One of the great things, though, about my team, is that we are strategic with our time and clients' needs—coordinating time in and out of the office, and ever y now and then time off to get a lile recharge; we work on being our best selves, available when our clients need us. What do you do to de-stress? I love this workout called Mantra, which is basically an intense Pilates class. It is a class I love tak ing as oen as I can, but I'm pre y active in general. We go paddle boarding and kayak ing. My daughter and I also both love cook ing together, and are big Food Network fans. One of our favorite shows and now games that we play, is "Cut-roat K itchen." at's a pre y fun and entertaining activity, because we have to run to the pantr y, get all our ingredients and run out. She' ll take away my k nives and replace them with a spoon: "Now you have to cut all your meat with a spoon!" Does your husband cook? My husband is a great cook. I got lucky that there's a balance. He's a naturally creative cook. Do you have a bucket list? Oh, yes. e bucket list is almost all travel related, and I'm work ing my way through that list. I love to travel. What's one place that you haven't been that you must go to? I haven't been to the Maldives. Maldives are high up on the list. I've been throughout A frica, and I love A frica, but I haven't been to Morocco, so that one is also high on my list. e Middle East is as well. I've also wanted to go to Dubai. Japan, too! Do you get to take long trips? You can't just go to Africa for the weekend. ank fully there have been moments on the rare occasion to take extended time away. However educating our daughter is ver y important to us, so we utilize her summer breaks to explore other cultures while giving her an expanded view of the world and life. What would be a perfect day for you? My perfect day starts with a chance to pop up early and work out. en I return home and am able to help get Bella ready and off to school. Our morning drive to school is one of my favorite parts of the day, when we talk nonstop, and laugh a lot. From there I dash to the office, where I relish the opportunity to work with my team helping our clients. When I finally tear myself away from the office, hopefully soon I' ll be going home to the new home we're building , where Bella and I would start our version of "Cut-roat K itchen." We'd run into our fabulous new pantr y, get our ingredients, and make a fun dinner together with Chris. at would be my perfect day. JFCS Gala with her husband, Chris Continued on page 56

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