Well, depends on when we want to start…but my “beginning” story began at Wells Rich Greene advertising in Manhattan, when I was same-day hired at 22 years old by an incredible woman, Phyllis Cerf Wagner, immediately after graduating from American University. She operated in a way that combined philanthropy, human interest and business and was my greatest mentor. I instantly felt connected, inspired, energized and alive as I joined the ranks of the advertising agency world and life. I took a chance, as I am not from New York, nor did I live there at the time – and it instantly changed the course of my life. From there I absorbed, learned, and grew with each new person I met and situation I encountered, along the way making incredible friends and what are now career-long colleagues. I also sought out ways to be involved in charitable organizations as a way of both giving back and meeting like-minded people. A few years in, I briefly left the field, and the US, to work in international relations, then came back to “Madison Avenue” and progressed into more senior roles which exposed me to large global brands and working with creatives and business executives in markets around the world. I then took a chance again and opened my own practice, to work with innovative companies forging new ways of operating, such as Tesla. While growing my business, I also became more involved in philanthropy which expanded my global network as it began to include political leaders, social impact change agents and celebrities. I also began mentoring others in my field, from my alma mater and younger women who were seeking guidance on navigating their careers. After growing my practice for over decade and becoming a consultant to some of the larger agency groups, I briefly went back to work as President of a NY agency, to lead its successful restructure, turn-around and sale – then EVP of a global branding agency before returning to run the revised edition of Viener&Partners in 2016. This time, I created a business model intentionally to service a blend of corporate and non-profit entities. I was asked to join as CEO of Genius 100 Foundation, a global philanthropic community initially founded to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, in the Fall of 2020.

It means everything to me. I am always striving to gather information and insights from as many different people and places as possible – as well as from people much more experienced and those that are much less – lessons come from each conversation and being open to understanding where people are coming from and what drives them. New knowledge and ways of seeing things inspire me, continues to shape my thinking. and allows me to re-imagine what is possible.

Once I was exposed to working in a global capacity, early on in my advertising career, I found it almost impossible to not think and work that way. With Genius, we are constantly engaged with people who strive to better the world through social impact work – many have invented extra-ordinary solutions to some of the world’s most complex challenges. I am inspired, pretty much on an hourly basis, by them and what our community, collectively, in collaboration, is able to achieve.

We are a North American based non-profit, inspired by Einstein, founded to create global impact by supporting under-resourced humanitarian and environmental initiatives and NGOs in geographies around the world.  Our philanthropic areas of focus are Arts, Education, Environment, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Health & Wellness, Literature, Science and Technology.  The Genius 100 Community is a diverse global community of visionary leaders, creative problem-solvers and philanthropic impact investors – connected by an unrelenting desire to make the world a better place and our collective ability to do so.

The vision of the organization is to continue to bring together accomplished, compassionate minds to reimagine the future and improve our world.  My vision as CEO is to continue to reach out and up and across – to people that are part of the movement to change our world for the better and include them, promote them, and their work. I meet new, extraordinary people every day – and am constantly awed and inspired. There are so many people that are doing truly extra-ordinary things that have tremendous impact – our role is to support these change-makers in every way that we can as a community, by connecting, sharing, and making an even greater impact.

We always need more support, more outreach, more “getting the word out” about the work we do and the campaigns we support. I am honored and delighted to be featured in your newsletter and to reach so many new, like-minded, impact-driven people. The more people we reach, the more we can achieve – together!

GlobalMindED closes the equity gap by creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline through connections to role models, mentors, internships for low-income students, returning adults, First Gen to college and inclusive leaders who teach them, work with them and hire them.