Courses taught at Cal Poly Humboldt: LDRS 311 Foundations of Leadership
Industry/Sector(s): Retail/Hospitality/Tourism; Outdoor Recreation; Nonprofit; Healthcare/Mental & Behavioral Health; Information Technology; Workforce Development; Higher Education
33 Years of Leadership
20 years of Teaching Experience
Why study leadership? What does it mean to lead from any place in an organization?
Why, indeed? It's not to check off a box and move on. The world needs leaders who are unapologetically leading from the heart, with pure intent, to bring light in the darkness. Let me explain: It takes great care, dedication and diligent work to lead from a place of your own solid foundation. Who am I? What do I value? Why? Once I know that, then I'm in a place where I can learn about others. Who are you? What do you value? Why? How can we work together? Leading from that space, when you have done your individual work and know yourself, to be a positive force that invites others to do the same -- that is so needed in the world right now.
I've worked for organizations where leadership is not valued, and it's clear that those who are suffering cause suffering. It's terrible! Think about a workplace you were in -- where it was so hard to talk, or be heard, or even just do the work you're trying to do because you aren't valued -- even when you're doing excellent work. It's not a good place. Darkness. When I've been in those situations, I can clearly see it's coming from people in authority who are not coming from a healthy space -- they don't or won't connect with people -- even though it's only through connecting with people "for real" that we can get success, where we all are working together for a common goal, as humans. When we are brave enough to be ourselves, we shine a light. Inviting others to work with us, the light gets stronger. Then other things become more visible -- solutions, paths, others who want to lead with us.
The reason to study leadership is to understand more about ourselves, others, and hopefully, learn tools and experiences that allow us to be brave enough to lead. The ripple effect of us learning about these leadership elements is also incredibly powerful. As we become more confident, caring, and open leaders, we do incredible work, possibly things we couldn't have imagined before. We unknowingly influence those around us, first our families, but then our work teams and neighborhoods... By studying, learning and earnestly applying leadership lessons, we not only transform ourselves, we can see how our communities also are transformed. Studying leadership is critically essential for the good of humanity, and it starts with each of us.
What experience do you have as a leader?
I have the privilege of serving as a leader in many roles and industries. The first part of my career was in the hospitality industry. I ran high-volume restaurants for a global chain, and if you've seen "The Bear" you know that is no joke. I led the Training Division at another large restaurant chain, building a team that created a robust operations and leadership corporate training system. I later led the team that did the business consulting with franchisees, and the operations auditing for all restaurants worldwide. I was then tapped to lead the operations for a new company-owned store division, where I had profit and loss responsibility for dozens of locations in multiple states (about $30M). I'm a graduate of the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, and I co-founded a women's athletic training company, which trained thousands of women to do a triathlon. I've worked as a consultant to help organizations write strategic plans and meet their organizational goals. For the past few years, I've worked in advancement (strategic resource development, partnership, and marketing) and workforce development, bringing much-needed resources to educational and nonprofit organizations doing good work nationally. I choose to do purpose-driven leadership work -- it's a dream come true.
Do you ever feel inspired by your students?
Every day! My favorite thing about being a faculty member in this program is that I have the gift of being inspired by our students every single day. 2024 marks my ninth year teaching in the program, and being able to teach two cohorts a year allows me to have such an incredible opportunity to connect with our students, who already are leaders, from all kinds of backgrounds. These leaders come to us seeking a bachelor's degree, and since I teach the first course at the Leadership Studies program, I have the wonderful role of truly welcoming them, and helping them feel seen and supported as they begin this chapter of their leadership journey with us. One of the first things we do in the course is have the students share a brief bio about themselves, including why they chose Cal Poly Humboldt and our program, and the inspiration I feel in reading those introductions is profound. Students have toiled, struggled, and fought to get to our program, and it is a true honor to be able to genuinely tell them that they are in the right place at the right time. I love telling them that they inspire us to guide and facilitate their learning, and that we as instructors also are learning about how these foundational leadership pieces will flow through them to make positive change in the world.
What is your favorite thing about teaching at Cal Poly Humboldt?
My favorite thing about this campus and this program is this energy I feel: "It is possible." Take a look at the purpose of the campus: "To provide the highest quality and affordable college education built on the contributions of diverse students, staff, and faculty who are committed to a just and sustainable world." What we do here makes that possible. I choose to teach in this program at this campus because I am part of a world-class team of leaders that truly has the learner at heart. Each of us on the Leadership Studies team are practitioners of leadership -- we relish the opportunity to lead, and we honor the opportunity to share our experiences, and learn from the students in our program and each other. Everyone has the potential to be a leader -- and at our campus, we welcome everyone to do so.
