A Servant's Heart
How compassion, curiosity, courage, and a lifetime of saying yes shaped the way I serve.
Before I learned to see the world, I learned to see people.
​
My heart for service did not begin with a leadership position, a nonprofit organization, a television program, or a title. It began when I was a little girl in Queensland, Australia, quietly following my mother through the halls of the nursing home where she worked. I watched her care for people who had often been forgotten. She never rushed them. She never made anyone feel like a burden. She believed every person deserved dignity, kindness, and to know they mattered.
She never sat me down and explained how to live a life of compassion. She simply lived it.
​
Looking back now, I realize she gave me my very first lesson in servant leadership: the greatest acts of service are often the quietest.
Compassion and Curiosity
While my mother taught me to serve, my father taught me to dream.
When I was thirteen, cancer took him from our family, but before he passed away, he left me with one of the greatest gifts of my life: curiosity. He encouraged me to dream, to ask questions, and to never be afraid of what lay beyond the horizon.
​
After his passing, I watched my mother work tirelessly to rebuild our lives. One afternoon, I found her sitting alone at our kitchen table surrounded by bills, carrying burdens she had never expected to face alone.
Standing quietly in that doorway, I made a promise to myself that I never wanted someone I loved to carry that weight by themselves again. That season taught me that compassion matters. Dreams matter. And stewardship matters too.
Investing in People
Years later, my journey led me into executive leadership, where I had the privilege of leading hundreds of employees across multiple organizations. People often ask what transformed those businesses. The answer wasn't better marketing or better buildings. It was people.
​
Corporate leadership taught me how to build organizations. Volunteer leadership taught me that peopleare always the greatest investment we can make.
​
When people feel seen, they stand taller. When they feel heard, they contribute more. When they know they are valued, they begin to believe in possibilities they may never have imagined for themselves.
​
That lesson continues to guide every leadership opportunity I accept.
Finding My Community
When my family moved to Florida, real estate became far more than a new profession. It became the place where every chapter of my life came together. Television taught me the power of stories. Habitat taught me what a home truly means. Business taught me stewardship. A lifetime of listening taught me that every transition carries a deeply personal story.
Then Women's Council gave me something I never expected. It gave me a community. It gave me mentors who believed in me, friendships I treasure, and opportunities to invest in leaders who will one day invest in others. Looking back, I realize that every meaningful chapter of my life has begun the same way. Someone recognized a need. And whenever that need aligned with my heart... My answer has always been, Yes.
Looking Back
Looking back now, I no longer see a collection of careers or accomplishments. Instead, I see the people who shaped my life. A little girl quietly watching her mother care for people. A father who taught me to dream beyond the horizon. Mentors who believed in me before I believed in myself. Communities around the world that taught me humility. Leaders who invested in my growth. And countless opportunities to say "yes" when someone simply needed help.
​
And it continues to guide the question I carry into every opportunity to serve:
How can I leave this place, and the people within it, better than I found them?
​
If you'd like to learn more about the experiences that shaped my journey, I invite you to explore the stories in My Story. Each chapter shares a deeper look at the moments, people, and lessons that have shaped the woman, and the leader, I continue to become.