About me

A few years ago, I decided to go back to regular employment after consulting for many years. Despite a master’s degree and years of solid experience, I couldn’t land a job. I decided to stop job hunting and learn more about why mature women are passed over for jobs for which they are well-qualified. My book, a memoir and guide, is the culmination of my quest to learn more about the work world, ageism, and myself. I got my seat back at the table as a result of writing the book and decided I needed to share my story.

Bio

I have thirty years of experience in corporate real estate, real estate development, urban planning, and affordable housing. I was born in San Francisco and raised in Silicon Valley. As a teenager, in addition to babysitting, I worked in tested integrated circuits and stuffed motherboards on garage floors. When it was time to go to college, I decided to try something completely different and attended a small, liberal arts college in Iowa. After college, I fell in love with urban planning and then attended graduate school in Washington, DC, where I earned a master’s in urban and regional planning at George Washington University. I eventually moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area and worked for nearly a decade at a major utility company before taking a break from work for a few years to be a stay-at-home mom. I went back to work when my youngest started school but found it ridiculously challenging to work full-time with three kids. The best solution was to do consulting. Then, when my kids were grown, I decided to go back to regular employment. The process was overwhelming and debilitating, so I stepped back to learn what was really going on and share what I learned. Ultimately, I did land that job and got my seat back at the table. I now work for a Bay Area city managing housing programs.

I have three grown daughters, whom I love dearly and talk to often. When I’m not writing in my free time, I go for long walks with my Doberman on the coast.

KEEPING YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE is my first book. Well, sort of. My actual first published book is a “pet project” called HappyNess, a gift book that is a tribute to my rescued Doberman named Nessa. All proceeds go to animal rescue organizations. HappyNess is available on Amazon. See the link below. My next writing project is to compile an anthology of other women’s stories as a follow-up to KEEPING YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE.