-Current title & company –
Associate General Counsel, Employment — The Mentor Network
– Brief description of who you are professionally w/ concise accomplishments –
I have practiced labor and employment law for over a decade. For the first ten years of my career, I worked in a law firm setting representing companies and employers in any and all employment-related matters — e.g., discrimination lawsuits, how to pay employees correctly, how to negotiate with unions, how to conduct employee investigations. Six months ago, I went “in-house” to do employment law for one company. I have always liked employment law because the issues are focused on people and how they relate in the workforce — employees, their supervisors, their coworkers, and their “bosses.” My job is to help my client do the right thing by its employees and to problem-solve solutions when missteps are inevitably taken. Employment lawyers have the best stories!
-Why did you join TWT and what are you hoping to achieve as a member of the organization?
I joined TWT when I moved to Boston from Philadelphia four years ago. When I moved to Boston, I didn’t know many people in the professional community so TWT was a way for me to meet other young professional women enjoying success in their careers. It has been a pleasure getting to know so many different women, in different industries and in varying levels of their career. Everyone is so supportive of one and another and I am proud to be a member of the group.
-What is one of your most proud professional moments and what are you most looking forward to professionally in the next five years?
This is going to sound strange, but one of my most proud professional moments was quitting a job that didn’t make me happy; having the strength to realize that enough was enough even though I had only been there a short time (10 months, as compared to 6.5 years at my first law firm). It was a risky decision because the next job offer I was considering came with a pay cut and a lot of question marks — but I knew that I deserved better and it was the best decision I ever made. Now that I have pivoted from the law firm world to the in-house counsel world (another big decision and another pay cut that I don’t regret), I am looking forward in the next five years to growing important internal relationships, learning as much as I can about my company, and cementing my place as a reliable, responsible, knowledgeable resource for the people who depend on my advice. I have already gained so much experience in the last 6 months and I am confident that everything I have learned and will learn will be transferrable to my next opportunity, whenever and wherever that may be.
-What do you do in your “free” time? Hobbies, Interests….
I always dread this question because I feel I should have a “better” answer — but here goes: I love watching sports and/or going to sporting events (the Red Sox are my first love), strength-training at the gym, paddle boarding at my mom’s house in Maine, I love to read, I raise money every year for Parkinson’s research, and I like to volunteer for political campaigns when I am particularly inspired by a candidate. I would like to ski and play tennis more. I also would like to take Spanish lessons.
-3 Core Values (i.e. Loyalty, hard work, independence):
Reliability, loyalty, and confidence. I want people to depend on me, trust me, and know that I believe in myself.
-Fun Fact/What makes YOU, you?
My fun fact is that I worked for the Philadelphia Phillies when I first graduated college. It taught me a lot, the most important of which was that I needed to be more challenged in a job, which is what led me to apply to law school. What makes me, ME is my ability to get along with and relate to most people, make people feel comfortable, and hopefully make people laugh from time to time.