Q1: Welcome to Fort Wayne and congrats on your new role with Sweetwater! Tell us a little about your background and how you landed here in the Summit City. Thank you!
I am excited to represent Sweetwater. I was born and raised in South Florida, went to school in the Boston area and lived in New York for many years. I’m now bringing the sunshine from Miami Beach to Fort Wayne after holding executive and senior positions for industry leading e-commerce, retail, consumer products and entertainment companies such as Popeyes®, Fuse Science, The Weinstein Company, Sony Music, Sony Pictures TV and Warner Brothers. Heading into the winter, I’m going to need to put away my shorts and sun hats and instead unpack my warm coats, scarves and boots.
Q2: What does a normal day look like for you, both personally and professionally?
I am a mom first. Around 6:00 a.m. my day starts with morning hugs and cuddles from my two young boys. Sometimes my 7-year-old starts as early as 5:00 a.m.! By 8:00 a.m. I am in my heels participating in the first meeting of the day as we at Sweetwater make music dreams come true. After a day of meetings, strategic conversations, risk mitigation, and compliance review and advise, I enjoy a little down time with my husband as my eyes close.
Q3: Since joining Sweetwater in March, what has been the most fun/enjoyable part of your job and why?
Goodness. With “Sweetwater time” there has been so much we have already accomplished. Gear Exchange going live was really a great team achievement and was exciting for us all. Sweetwater previously offered musicians a trading post; a place for listing used music gear. Now, after hearing so many of our customers’ musically inclined voices, our team built an online marketplace allowing customers to sell and buy used music gear to/from each other. This was no easy feat — we pay attention to details and everything we do is focused on delivering the best possible service and experience to our customer.
Q4: How do you spend your free time? Do you have any hobbies?
When I’m not working, you can find me with family and friends. We spend a lot of time in the pool, on baseball fields and around the table chatting and eating. We have always been sports fans cheering for the Marlins, Yankees and Hurricanes baseball and football teams, and now my boys are playing baseball, too. With so much going on, I am very lucky to have the best family and friends who are always there to share a laugh, and a batch of my homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Q5: Sweetwater was founded on a passion for music. Do you enjoy music? Do you have a favorite artist or music group you listen to?
I am a Dave Matthews Band (DMB) fan through and through. My favorite concerts were seeing them play at Madison Square Garden with James Brown as a guest, the small venue of Beacon Theater or, recently, when I took my kids and watched them groove along with their versions of the Dave dance and Fonz boogie.
Q6: What is one personal goal you have for yourself and how do you plan to achieve it?
Stop taking on too much and over doing. I have begun to learn my limits and am setting boundaries through time management and trusted delegation.
I am here to help evaluate risk assessment, oversee compliance and work on new initiatives like Gear Exchange, Sweetwater Instrument Rental and more. It is exciting to work on these teams as implementations come to fruition.
