Echo

Michelle is a woman who I've known for several years through mutual music friends.  I've always known her to be beautiful, friendly, and a woman I'd describe as a "firecracker".  Then, through the magic of Facebook, I realized that I might have more in common with Michelle than I thought. 

Our friendship expanded as we started virtually training for our first half marathon together in 2011.  She is the one who joined me in starting our pukefaintordie blog to document our ups and downs while training.  

Although I don't see Michelle as often as I want to, we've managed to stay in touch online and she continues to be an inspiration to me in my own life.  She is truly following her passions in her work and in her play, and she continually reminds me to stay focused, be present, reach for your highest goals, and to keep smiling. 

Michelle is currently featuring short interviews with some really awesome women in her life, and I'm so honored to be a part of her Echo Project.  In her words, "Each week I will post a quick interview with one amazing woman in my life. The purpose is to inspire, connect and share inspirational women on the planet."

I'm honored that Michelle asked me to be a part of this, and inspired to be in the company of the other women she has featured.  Here's my interview below!

What do you do for a living? I am a project manager and geologist with an environmental consulting firm in Denver. I’ve been working for the same small company for 10 years, and most days I love what I do. My job is intellectually stimulating, I do something different every day, I work with great people, I have a lot of responsibility and room for growth, and it’s a great place to work as a full-time working mother. I’m very thankful for the career path I’ve found myself in.

What is your purpose in life? Hard question! As a mother to a little girl, I take a lot of responsibility for raising a strong, independent, powerful, kind, and smart woman. I also find a lot of gratification in sharing my love of music with the people in my life and in my community. I am absolutely passionate about supporting live, independent music, and through my history as a bluegrass radio DJ and now as a house concert hostess, I’m doing my part to share my love of acoustic music with everyone I come into contact with and to support all the amazing musicians out there who are trying to make a living through their art!

If you had the attention of every woman on the planet, what would you say to us? I’m constantly striving to support the other women in my life and in my career. If women are to be truly valued in all societies, and by our male counterparts, we have to start by supporting each other! I see too many women, especially in a professional setting, who are threatened by the successes of other women, and it sets up a vicious cycle of women cutting each other down instead of us raising each other up.

What is your super power? I think I am an awesome multi-tasker, and I am very organized. It’s the only way I stay on top of things in my very busy life. Very thankful that these are skills I possess.

If you could interview any woman alive today, who would it be and why? There are a lot of awesome women doing great things in the world right now. But I might just like to talk to other working mamas about how on earth they find the balance. Everyone has different tips and tricks, and I can use any and all advice given to me. Or else Beyonce.

What did you want to be when you were 5 years old? I couldn’t remember, so I asked my mom, and she said I wanted to be a magician!