I’m descended from a long line of risk-takers. They weren’t the type to skydive or scale mountains, and they never saw themselves as all that daring. But people in my family weren’t afraid to make big bets with their entire lives.
Shortly after his 17th birthday, my maternal grandfather left his home in northern Italy alone and boarded a ship bound for Ellis Island. To the shock of his family, my paternal grandfather walked away from the insulated world of a Pennsylvania family farm where a form of Dutch, rather than English, was spoken. My dad spent nearly his entire career in the CIA, meeting his fair share of sketchy sources under street lamps. My mom did something very few women from small-town, close-knit Italian families attempted in the 1960s, moving to Washington D.C. and then Brussels.
This site aims to honor their examples with insights and ideas that prepare you to make small and big leaps in your own life, both personally and professionally. We’ll explore how to move beyond our comfort zones and out into the margins that are both a little scary and enormously ripe with possibility.
It’s been my good fortune to work with and learn from a lot of smart people whose wisdom has changed my own trajectory. I’ve been a reporter and columnist for leading newspapers, including the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer and authored a book on calling. I’ve collaborated with executives on speeches, op-eds and articles that have appeared in many of the world’s most prominent media outlets – from Forbes and Fortune to the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. I’m now chief of staff and strategist at a global nonprofit organization.
The resources here – with a focus on leadership, communication, performance, and well-being – reflect my belief that there’s nothing more exciting than discovering you’re capable of more than you thought. And that these journeys into our potential are even better when there’s a community to support us. Thanks for joining the conversation!