Tell us a bit about yourself! How did you get started with your current career path?
After a decade-long career working in curatorial departments in Museums across New York and New England, I founded Brilliantly. Brilliantly started with trying to solve a problem for myself. My mother Lisa died from metastatic breast cancer at age 49, and after years of expensive and emotionally taxing screenings, finding a lump, and learning more about my hereditary risk, I had a preventative mastectomy and reconstruction in 2013. In the years following, I faced a profound shift in my identity and connection with my body. One of the things that bothered me was feeling constantly cold. After talking to hundreds of women in the breast cancer community over the summer of 2017 and finding out that I wasn’t alone in my struggles post-mastectomy, I was compelled to leave my career and start designing a sustainable solution to help women like myself feel physically comfortable. I love writing, public speaker and problem solving. I am a member of Dreamers & Doers, The Fourth Floor, Hey Mama and Women of Wearables. In addition to my work at Brilliantly, I am an avid jigsaw puzzler, gardener, and list maker. I currently live in Providence, RI with my “Junior Staffers” Liam (14) and Sylvia (12).
How do you define success?
For me, success is quite simply enjoying my life. If I love what I'm doing, learning new skills and surrounded by good people, I feel successful. We only get to be alive for such a short time and feeling joyful and fulfilled is always my goal.
What's something you would tell your younger self when it comes to your career now knowing what you know today?
Don’t forget to have fun. For as long as I can remember I’ve been rushing towards an achievement and sometimes I lose sight of that it’s the process of getting there that’s my life. I only get to do all of this once and slowing down to enjoy it is ok.
How do you invite others to come sit at your table?
Brilliantly wouldn’t be here without the help and support of so many amazing people. It is going to take the rest of my lifetime of giving back to fulfill my karmic obligations. I live in gratitude to the proverbial village supporting me and do my best to actively give back to other women in every way I can. With the company, I am creating a product that is relevant for almost every woman at some point in her life. Within the startup community, I feel very lucky to have a group of female founders as accountability partners that I both rely on and bolster during the most difficult parts of building our businesses. I want to be part of the tide change that brings women more comfort, autonomy, power and success and that requires a very long table full of smart and dedicated people.
Comments