I received the nickname “Miss 411” after being featured in the magazine Business Nashville which included me in the issue highlighting the “Power 100 of Nashville’s Heavy Duty Influential Players”.  The article not only gained me a new nickname, but also raised my visability in the business community at large. My small multifaceted business grew to a new level along with my new calling card of Miss 411.

I am a life long Tennessean.  I completed my undergraduate education in 3 years and my first graduate degree was completed the following year.   I began working at Vanderbilt Law Library the summer before my senior year of high school and a local law firm the following fall.   I continued both jobs through my college and graduate school years.  The local law firm I began working with at age 17 remains a client today. 

After formally creating my company, I built a clientele of law firms, corporations and accounting firms to manage their libraries along with my staff.  As a result of my volunteer work in the community, I began working as an advocate on the state and federal levels in the area of health. My achievements included securing grants for 3 non-profit organizations. The first secured state grant of $16.5 million was matched by a $19 million federal grant for the disabled and senior community in the state. The second was a national private organization grant for $4.5 million to address smoking issues in the state. The third and most recent grant is for $1.5 million dollars for providing LARC for women in Middle Tennessee. 

My success of advocating for legislation for multiple aspects relating to the lives of women, children and families both on the local, state and federal levels has been voluminous. Additionally, I have mounted campaigns to block legislation that would have been detrimental to these same groups on all three legislative levels.     

As my advocacy work grew, I decided to seek a graduate degree to help me make an even stronger impact with my advocacy. Returning to the classroom after being away for so many years could have been a challenge, but I completed the program with a 4.0 GPA and won an award for my high score on the comprehensive exam. The program helped me grow my skill set in employment law, ethics, leadership and statistical research and surveys. This additional education added to my already successful information management consulting business skillset.

My personal life plays a role in my professional work. I have been married to my best friend and partner in life for three decades. My husband and I enjoy our sharing our professional work details, such as discussing a recent article we have read. I am a mother to a son who has recently completed graduate school and moved to Washington, D. C. to work as an Earth Scientist. My second son passed away shortly after his birth. His death has helped me focus on advocacy issues related to women and children’s health.

 My favorite pastime is enjoying life and laughing.