Hiya!
Mom / Designer / Coach / Facilitator
I'm so delighted to meet you! I'm a mom of three, based in Austin, TX, obsessed with the alignment of individual capabilities and organizational objectives. I heart good learning design, I launched my new business, Charlie Box, and believe the best in others. I coach millennial professionals to define their own success and facilitate leadership learning. I'm an avid reader and believe business is a force for good in the world. Check out my products and services, email me if you have any questions!
ABOUT CHARLIE BOX
Charlie Box was born out of a need and passion for a curated, custom product to help leaders develop at all levels at scale and affordability. After being in corporate learning and teaching MBAs in finance at a top-ranked business school, I always wished I could do more to customize development for each person and had such little time! With so many products and services able to custom our tastes and interests, I wanted to be able to design and develop a curated experience with intention, speed, scale and purpose......for everyone.
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The mission for the Charlie Box is to teach professional development with the best resources, using the most up-to-date learning methods, and in ways that complement individual learning styles in order to be good and do good in business. Our methods, products and memberships allow a personalized experience that creates individual learning journeys to build routines for impact and change. We believe that individual impact makes a global difference.
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What's up with the name?
My best business ideas come with my oldest daughter who is brilliant, beautiful and the best at telling me if a product or service is not simple enough to sell. And she is right almost every time. After a long night of dreaming, Charlie Box, was the name we came up with. We liked it because it was inclusive of both genders and the definition of 'Charlie" means freedom. Plus it was born with lots of love and laughter, what a great foundation.
ABOUT ME
Once upon a time, there was nothing and then there was something. Then a boy met a girl, and they had a baby. And that baby was born in 1981 when gas prices were $1.25, a new home was $78,000 and lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles. That year NASA launched the very first Space Shuttle Mission, Columbia. It's the first year that marks the new millennial generation and President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to the US Supreme Court. The best songs were "Endless Love" by Dianna Ross and Lionel Richie and it was cool to roll up your jeans and have Farrah Fawcett's feathered hair.
Born April 5, 1981
Grew up in beautiful Colorado. Expansive skyline, majestic mountains and mostly sunny days. Lesson: grateful for nature.
Father passes away - 1991
My father suffered a heart attack and passed away when I was 10 years old. He was only 51 years himself. Lesson: Life is short. Enjoy the moment because that is all you truly have.
Don't live with regrets.
Got married and had baby #1 Madison - 2006
Married my college sweetheart. Madison was born promptly at 1pm on her due date. She is my delight and greatest teacher. The world looks different when you have children - all of a sudden there are way too many cars that drive way too fast. Lesson: You never ever sleep the same again. Love and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Children remind us of our own pure curiosity. Playing is learning.
Baby #2 Sophia - 2009
Sophia was born right on time as well, fully baked. She came out laughing and hasn't stopped since. She has depth and warmth and being extroverted is a real thing. Lesson: no two kids are alike. Toddlers test your nerves. We are all different in amazing ways. Watching people learn and grow is the greatest gift of all time.
Baby #3 Grace - 2013
Baby Grace came along, last but not least. It's amazing how much your heart can grow with each child. She ate more dirt than the others and I think better off for it. Lesson: Love grows, the pie gets bigger, there is enough.
Launched first business in coaching and consulting - 2012
I had always had side hustles and officially went all-in on my business designing leadership programs and coaching people in career management, job search, and finding work that aligns with their values. My clients include Adidas, Brainerd Chemical Company, Wells Fargo, Wolfgang Career Coaching, UT Austin, and Duke University. Lesson: It costs $24 to register as a DBA in Texas. Being my own boss is very rewarding. Driving change in people and organizations is where I feel most at home.
Director, Leadership Development at Duke Corporate Education 2018-2020
I built global, complex, learning, and leadership solutions for companies of all sizes, including emerging talent to the executive team. I created impactful and measurable positive learning experiences using agile project management that keep organizations innovative and employees engaged. I developed expertise in authoring tools and learning management systems as well as using bots and gamification to accomplish set goals. I lean on learning science, research, and instructional design frameworks to build the most effective learning solutions while innovating and customizing offerings to fit employee needs. Lesson: people are fascinating. We all want to learn and be appreciated at work. This was a big job.
Launch Charlie Box Leadership - 2021
I'm ecstatic to be launching Charlie Box and swimming in the uncertainty of complexity. The time is now to prepare for all our up-and-coming leaders to make this world a better place. Sure, we may mess it up but so did every generation before us and now it's our turn. The millennial generation is fully equipped and more able than any other to take the reigns in all professions to lead where we need it most: diversity, politics, innovation, learning, engagement, and most importantly within our own hearts and minds. If you read my timeline this far, I will give you 15% off your next month's service. Email me and tell me what you loved the most. Bonus points if you find a typo. Lesson: life is for living the life you want. Passion and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Let's do this!.
Placed in foster care - 1990
My mother suffers from mental illness and was hospitalized. I spent 3 years with a loving couple in foster care. Lesson: Life is difficult and doesn't always make sense. There are people in the world that really care and that community is vital to children.
First-gen to graduate college - 2005
I have always been curious about human behavior. I studied psychology, mainly to understand my mother. I instead realized that we are all a bit mentally ill in our own special way. Lesson: Education is power, learning never disappoints, and can lead to great things in your life.
Built educational tech at UH Houston: 2005 - 2011
I started out as an Academic Advisor at the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. I enjoyed helping students make progress in their education. I was promoted to build out the technology for our department. Which meant building academic plans and coding to an online system. It was the first tech transformation I was part of and I realized I really like fixing things. Lesson: Design is important when learning something new. Our attention spans get worse as we get older. Good leaders are essential to innovation.
Graduated with Masters in HRD - 2011
My obsession with individual capabilities aligning with organizational goals started to take a deeper root. I was fascinated with the intersection between design, learning, and change. I learned the ADDIE model, HTML, and coaching principles. I fell in love with organizational development and preparing people for meaningful work. Lesson: If I have to spend that much time away from my family, my work better be worth it. Employee engagement is terrible in most places. Leadership sets the tone. All organizational change initiatives are hard.
Instructor & Senior Career Consultant, UT Austin: 2011 - 2016
I enjoy developing people & teams, change, and transition, teaching and preparing for career transitions. I have designed curriculum and taught career education including building social capital, brand management, networking, interview preparation, and job search strategies to groups of 10 and up to 300. Lesson: I absolutely, 100%, with all my heart LOVE teaching and facilitating groups.
Led Finance sector in MBA Career Management at Fuqua 2016-2018
I led the finance sector at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University coaching professionals in financial services including investment banking, private equity, private wealth management, and corporate finance. I performed many different roles in career coaching, consulting, and building strong corporate partnerships with the top global financial services firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan and boutique banks such as Moelis, Evercore, and Houlihan Lokey. Lesson: big brands are insecure. People are people wherever you go and we all deal with similar issues no matter what our background. We are more similar than different. Oh, and I love investment bankers -- who would have thought?
COVID-19 - 2020
Wow. I really hate COVID. It was/is a tough time in our world history and nation's history. There are many things in need of serious transformation and much work to do. Lesson: working a big job and taking care of children is unmanageable. More women lost this battle, including myself. Life is too short to miss the important moments.