I was born and raised in Baltimore. I had an amazing learning experience growing up in the 410 and I still follow the Ravens and Orioles religiously, won’t turn down an opportunity to eat Maryland blue crabs and think The Wire is one of the best TV shows ever made. I love crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay in the summer with my husband and am looking forward to introducing my toddler son to this special Maryland pastime in the years to come.

I went to university in Texas and over the last 15 years, have found myself living and teaching in Dallas, Chicago, Boise, San Francisco and New York, spending my summers leading experiences for students in Yellowstone National Park, Switzerland, Ghana, Fiji and Italy.

I’m obsessed with dogs, love taking photos, going skiing, learning new things (I’ve recently gotten into a mycology/foraging kick!) and looking for real estate where I want to live next (maybe here, here or here?!)

My best life hack is that failures and mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process. Being comfortable with taking well-reasoned risks, having confidence in your ability to rise to the challenge before you, embracing change with passion and enthusiasm and constantly reflecting on ways to improve or improvise your next step or solution are the quickest ways to finding success in any endeavor that a person undertakes.

I've found that if you can adopt these mental components and add in kindness and compassion for others, success will almost always be around the next bend. Data points in my life indicate that this hack appears to be applicable in the workplace, with relationships and even when traveling to new horizons.