The great outdoors are where I feel at home, and I love adventuring with my hubs and pup. My favorite outdoor activities are hiking, disc golfing, regular golfing, kayaking, skiing, camping, and swimming. Challenges don’t scare me and I tend to approach them with a “how hard can it be?” attitude, which does sometimes turn around and bite me haha. I love connecting with people and love to learn about what makes them thrive and how I can support their goals.
Q: Please tell us about yourself.
The great outdoors are where I feel at home, and I love adventuring with my hubs and pup. My favorite outdoor activities are hiking, disc golfing, regular golfing, kayaking, skiing, camping, and swimming. Challenges don’t scare me and I tend to approach them with a “how hard can it be?” attitude, which does sometimes turn around and bite me in the butt haha. I love connecting with people and love to learn about what makes them thrive and how I can support their goals.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
In addition to owning Playa Bowls, I’m also a Certified Professional Coach and am currently a full-time software consultant working remotely. The thing I’m most passionate about is building and growing teams, and helping individuals see their awesome potential and ability to achieve whatever they want.
Q: What is your favorite book?
Business book – probably How to Win Friends and Influence People or Energy Leadership. Not-business book – The Great Alone.
Q: What are some of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Oh man there are so many! Modern Bird (hey, Andy!), The Boathouse, Playa Bowls (am I allowed to have my own restaurant be one of my favorites? Haha), Flying Noodle, Poppycocks, Amical, The Filling Station, and Red Spire (best breakfast in town!)
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community? What brought you to Grand Traverse County?
My husband and I bought our house here in February 2020 just before COVID got real dicey. While working remotely at a software consulting company (which we still do), we started the process for opening Playa Bowls in April 2021 and were finally able to open at our State Street location September 24th last year! We decided that we should make Traverse City our next home when we were on a family vacation here in 2017 and got married at The Boathouse. We loved how close to nature everything was and how cute the downtown area was. We fell in love with it!
Q: What advice would you give to people who want to visit our community?
DO IT!! Although summer time is most people’s favorite because you can spend time outside without dressing like an Eskimo and actually get to enjoy all the water around us, if you want to see what the people who live here are like and actually get into the restaurants you want to go to, try visiting during the other times of the year.
Q: If you could choose anyone today with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you all meet?
Ooohh great question! Either Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, or David Attenborough, broadcaster and nature lover. I would love to talk with Richard about how he has been able to accomplish so much both in business and driving positive change in the world. With David it would be amazing to chat about the adventures he has been on that have been most impactful to him and why. And also to talk about what he thinks we can do better as a small town and individuals to stall or slow down climate change. I would meet with them at The Boathouse.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
My favorite thing about our community is also what makes it unique – you can go on a hike, play golf, go kayaking or boating, or any number of outdoor activities then enjoy fine dining within a couple miles of each other! There’s so much to do in such a small geography!
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
It always so hard to think of something interesting about myself because what I think is interesting and what you think are interesting could very well be different. Here goes, though – I’m terrified of roller coasters and also have an unfound fear of falling off a cliff. So almost every night while I’m trying to fall asleep, I imagine myself on a roller coaster at the top of the incline about to skyrocket down, or that I’m at the end of a cliff and I jump off. I’m trying to recondition my brain to not be so afraid by visualizing my fears while knowing that I’m in a safe environment.
Q: Which yearly event in Grand Traverse County do you enjoy best?
I love Cherry Fest! The best part is all the great acts that are brought to town. The morning Zumba and yoga sessions are also super fun and I love being outside at the Open Space in the morning breeze while participating.
Q: What is your favorite season in Northern Michigan? And what is your favorite activity to do in that season?
I love the summer best. Floating on the water and absorbing the rays of sunshine is the most amazing feeling I can think of. I also REALLY love camping and hanging out by a fire as night settles in.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Comfortable. Creative. Fun.
