Pitching Yourself for Opportunity

In a different time, or a different place, I might have been an editor at Vogue (a la Anna), or a foreign correspondent with the BBC (a la Christiane), but as it turns out, my super power is communication. So I take my "highest and best use" seriously and follow my talents. To that end, what I'm passionate about, what I LOVE (and kick ass doing) is developing leaders—seasoned executives and next generation talent. As the CEO and founder of Great on the Job, my team and I have reached millions (!!) of learners across the globe—though online learning and through working with many of the most influential organizations and iconic brands—counting LinkedIn, JP Morgan, Abbott, and Harvard Business School amongst our longest standing clients. I have appeared on the TEDx stage (Why You Should Stop Looking for Work You Love), am the author of the critically acclaimed book: Great on the Job, What to Say, How to Say It, The Secrets of Getting Ahead (St. Martin’s Press), and I write for the Harvard Business Review. I live in Chicago, IL with my husband and three favorite people- my children. I prefer to be outside versus inside. I'd rather eat a hot fudge sundae than work out (but I do both, grudgingly). And I have a very strong pull towards the couch and Netflix post 11 pm. And of course, because I must say it- I do have plenty of street cred as I regularly contribute to top media outlets. My career advice has been featured everywhere you'd hope it would be- New York Times, USA Today, US News & World Report, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, WSJ finance, CNN Money, Glamour, Shape, Real Simple, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, and more. I am also a former Peace Corps volunteer (Southern Chile) turned investment banker (Goldman Sachs). After five years in the public sector, I talked my way into full-ride scholarship to b-school as a Park Leadership Fellow at the Johnson School of Business. Before turning to the world of finance, I was a policy analyst at the U.S. EPA and did stints at the White House and Governor’s Office of Illinois. I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity and access to a top notch education (I have a B.S. in Social Policy, Magna Cum Laude, from Northwestern University), although I in no way think that higher ed should be the primary gateway to professional success. I also care deeply about giving back and paying it forward, reach out if you want to change the world together! I am former member of the NU's Council of 100, former board member of Readworks.org and Trustee of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.