Professor, Wife, Mother, Advocate
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SOCIAL
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I am a passionate advocate for advancing women in the workforce. I want to do my part in changing the status quo and creating positive social change for women in the workforce! I couldn't agree more with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg that "Conditions for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns"
I am extremely active on social media, especially on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs. I utilize these platforms to build my professional brand and to advocate for the advancement of women in the workforce globally. I blogged for workingmother.com (@PowerMom) for a couple years until I launched my professional blog; www.powerofworkingwomen.com. I am an active member of many organizations that share the #advancingwomen goal including: NY State Women Inc. where I am the immediate past President, LBWA (Latina Business Women’s Association), AAUW (American Association of University Women), and NAFE (National Association of Women Executives). I served as the the board as President Elect for New York State Women Inc. Buffalo Niagara Chapter 2016/2017 and served as President 2017/2018. Prior to teaching in higher education, I spent more than a decade in marketing and management including 9 years as a Senior Marketing Manager for Fisher-Price (a division of Mattel, a Fortune 500 company). In my tenure at Fisher-Price I had the opportunity to develop and launch hundreds of products as well as head up all marketing and marketing communication efforts for these products as I managed a variety of multi-million dollar businesses within the Mattel organization. I was able to oversee the development of a number of media campaigns both nationally and internationally including a variety of television commercials, print advertisements and direct to consumer marketing pieces. My time at Fisher-Price afforded me the opportunity to participate in a number of research efforts including focus groups, mom-talks and ethnographic research. These efforts took me to many cities in the United States as well as throughout Europe and Asia. It’s also where I met my awesome husband. On a personal note, I am happily married to a wonderful supportive husband and we recently celebrated our 15 year anniversary. We have 2 beautiful (and energetic) sons, Anthony who is 12 (who plays baseball, trombone, and loves Tae Kwondo and already has his black belt) and his little brother Julian who is 10. Julian is a beautiful and loving boy with autism. As a parent of a special needs child, I try to advocate not only for him but for all families. He is my heart and I am his voice. I utilize social media to advocate for advancements in the field of autism. Over the past few years my husband and I have raised over $30,000 in support of programs for children and families with autism. As far as fun, I love sports (both watching and participating). I run regularly and ran two Half Marathons in 2018 (Disney and Buffalo half) and the Kentucky Bluegrass Marathon in March 2019. My favorite sports to watch are baseball and college football and of course, I love to support my hometown football and Hockey teams the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres. I grew up playing softball and still play in an adult league, but I have become quite a fan of tennis as an adult. I try to play at least once a week! I also belong to a kickboxing gym which I love (nothing like punching something to relieve your stress!) and have recently gotten into yoga. I love spending time with my family but also cherish alone time where I enjoy music, reading, movies and of course engaging with fellow status quo smashers via social media. |