Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their lives. Jeff Bezos worked on Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonald’s franchise in his 50s.

I was raised in North Jersey to two jazz musicians who supported themselves as teachers as well. My uncles played with Frank Sinatra and other jazz musicians and I was practially raised in a recording studio when my parents made music. I had an amazing childhood surrounded by family, music and watching MTV when it first launched. That began my love of the industry.

Carpe Diem- Seize the Day because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to anyone. Living in the present moment is how I choose to live my life: with my kids, producing a show or DJ’ing. Living in the moment with intent is the best way to live.

1-Have Integrity. There have been many times when something didn’t feel right in a production setting or standing up for someone on the team that should have been heard. When in doubt, always stand with your integrity. You can sleep better at night and you help raise the vibration on this planet.

2-Help The Next Generation Out: I was truly honored to have the best first bosses in the world at Nickelodeon. They treated me with respect and took the time to explain how the network functioned (not just from the department I was interning at). It helped tremendously in launching my career. I have honored that tradition by working as a mentor for interns and emerging talent at every place I have worked and I continue to do so at colleges to help shine a light on the path of the new generation.

3-Take Chances: I was incredibly lucky to be on the producing team that gave Lady Gaga her TV debut. We took a chance with her and need I say more?

I spent over 15 years at Viacom working at Nickelodeon, TV Land, VH1 and MTV. I loved working at the various networks and helping to launch talent. Since then, I launched my own production and talent booking company: Drive Entertainment Group. Over the past 18 years we have been able to work on incredible projects from American Idol to documentaries such as Kings From Queens: the RUN DMC story.

The next chapter is forming for the past year where I am helping creatives find their voice and align their purpose through the Japanese concept Ikigai. I am still a producer but this is another important element of my company called ‘Thrive With Drive’.

A few months ago I had a life-altering trip for work that really brought a dream come true. I had been dreaming of being on a river with a pagoda in the distance. Years ago, when I first had this vision/dream, I thought it was the trip to Thailand where I was producing Miss Universe and had booked Ne-Yo. That was an incredible trip and I loved being in that beautiful country. However, I continued to have that dream a few years later and I couldn’t quite place where it would bring me.

At the end of 2023, an amazing colleague and friend who I had worked with on all of the Disney Holiday Specials, Stephanie Heaston, asked me to jump on board to book Crunchyroll’s Anime Awards. It was a dream come true. Everything about Japan was exactly what I had envisioned it to be. The incredible food, the beautiful culture, the gorgeous Shinto temples and the honor of what the Japanese live by: Ikigai.

Ikigai is: what you love (your passion), what the world needs (your mission), what you are good at (your vocation), and what you can get paid for (your profession) (Thanks Wikipedia!). I felt that I had truly found my purpose the entire time I was working and exploring Japan.

While I was in Tokyo, I decided to take a few days to travel to Kyoto because I have always been pulled there. I decided to go on a night tour of Kyoto when I arrived via bullet train because I didn’t want to miss one minute of being in this glorious country. I met a few folks on the tour and just as I was getting to know my fellow travelers, we turned a corner… and there it was! THE pagoda that had been in my dreams all of these years. The pagoda I had seen in the distance on a hill in my vision. I knew that this trip was more than just a production for me. I knew this was an important journey for me to travel back to what was important to me. What was my life purpose? What was I supposed to do to help others? How could I make a difference?

This trip made me find MY authentic voice and was the beginning of recalibrating my purpose in what I do daily. I love production, but I also love helping others find what their passion and purpose is. Always trust your North Star and believe in your dreams the pagoda you envision, may take you on new adventures you never thought could come true!

I realized that after a rough few years for our industry (pandemic, strikes, life transitions for folks), that I wasn’t alone in making some changes. I had also become a mom later in life and I knew that after trying to start a family for so long, I needed to invest time with those beautiful children I finally was able to have. That meant taking a long, hard look at my life to see what freedom I could find in my schedule along with helping so many incredible creatives I had the privilege of working side by side with.

They too were struggling so I wanted to create a community for colleagues to feel safe and vent. I did that through a group I created called ‘In The Mix’. It is a monthly zoom meet-up where I feature various speakers who speak to transformation and adversity in their journey.

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