GRAND ISLAND, NE

Growing up in a town where we went everywhere unsupervised gave me a great sense of independence. I’d leave in the morning on my bike and come home for dinner.

There were constant tornado warnings and many, many river parties.

I’ve had a love for animals since I was a kid. I’d bring home a lost kitten, a hurt bunny, etc. Later, when my husband and I were first married, a baby squirrel got knocked out of a black walnut tree near our duplex. The vet said he wouldn’t make it, but we bottle-fed him, kept him in a box with a heating pad and raised him until he was five months old. When we finally took him to Elmwood Park, I cried the entire way home.
 

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA – LINCOLN

I was an advertising major with minors in political science, marketing and English. Albert C. Book, a copy professor, taught me to stand up to harsh criticism and defend my ideas.

At this point, I’ve taken enough graduate level courses to have a master or two, but not a focus in one specific area.
 

HORIZON SEED COMPANY – MARKETING DIRECTOR

I was fresh out of school, but everyone looked at me like I was an expert in marketing. I put together test trials, recruited new dealers, wrote and published a newsletter and created ads for papers and magazines.

I learned to be fearless, decisive and to speak with authority despite any doubts.

Keep in mind, I was a city girl. Once, while setting up a test trial event, I made the mistake of wanting to check out a mama pig. She must have seen me as a threat because she charged and head-butted me face-first into the mud. I didn’t think it was nearly as funny as the farmer did, but I eventually laughed it off once the mud was clear from my face. That test trial turned out to be the best one I put together.
 

BOZELL – SENIOR PARTNER

I started as a management supervisor, and within two years, I was made VP. I was among the youngest individuals promoted to VP of the then-global Bozell brand and one of only a few females. Two years after that, I was elevated to senior partner.

I helped Bozell pitch and win regional, national and international accounts, received the Global Key 50 Women in Energy-Americas’ awards and had the great fortune to work shoulder-to-shoulder with industry greats like Chuck Peebler and David Bell. I should note, though, when I traveled to Germany to accept the Key Women in Energy award, I came home with a broken ankle. And, as a young account person, I was sent to the Middle East and then promptly sent home because I refused to wear a veil. It wasn’t all a shiny success.
 

BOZELL – CEO

I was one of four partners that acquired Bozell back from Interpublic group in 2001. It was risky, but I’m proud of the role I played in keeping the legacy just as vibrant and relevant as the agency our founders launched over 95 years ago.
 

Words to live by: Never lick a steak knife. –Dave Barry