My grandparents came from Missouri, Georgia, and Florida to a small town in New Mexico where I was born and raised. And I came from a long line of dentists - dad, granddad, and even great granddad. But no, I didn’t follow in their footsteps. My grandmother was a math teacher, and some summers took courses on computer programming. And that talent and love for numbers was passed down through my mom to me. Yes, I was the geek who joined the math club, and entered math contests. Much to the chagrin of my two sisters who hated math.

After my dad died suddenly when I was five, my mom started a business with her friend. And the company which manufactured bed and bath accessories grew into a multi-million dollar pursuit. So I grew up helping through the small beginnings to the larger growth. I was taught that we had to work the hardest of all, so we could set the example. And we were expected to pitch in no matter how small and menial, or big and glamorous the task. When the accounting manager had a heart attack one summer when I was in high school, I suddenly had the responsibility to manage the annual inventory. That led me to continue helping with accounting and cost accounting throughout my school and college years.

After graduating from high school, I headed to an Ivy League College in New England. Having a love for learning and curiosity for a wide variety of subjects, it was a struggle to narrow down my interests. My initial dream of architecture turned to an idealistic desire to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. But in choosing a liberal arts school, even with a degree in Psychology and acceptance to two related honor societies, more would have been needed for Medical School. So as an ideal optimist, I thought law and politics might make a positive difference in the world. So I did a congressional internship, took the LSAT, and headed to Texas planning to use a law school scholarship. But after taking a hard look at that path, decided to dismiss the law profession pursuit, and entered a new fork in the road.

While in college, my mom reconnected with her Jr. High sweetheart, and they married soon after I graduated. So I gained two more sisters, a brother-in-law, and niece. Then, after moving to Texas with plans for law school, I continued to work for my mom’s business doing accounting, working closely with the CFO. During that time, I started computer programming and wrote an EDI interface. I also assisted in an ERP implementation as the manufacturing company had outgrown its older accounting package. So then I faced yet another fork in the road, choosing whether to pursue accounting, or pursue technology and programming.

After my mom decided to sell her part of the business to her partners, I left to find my post graduate career path having made the decision to pursue technology. And when I found a company that needed programming for LIFO Accounting, it was a natural fit for both my love of numbers, as well as technology and software design. But as the numbers of applications grew into a portfolio of various software programs, I headed back to school to earn my project management certification. And went on to manage both software projects and the team of developers. During that time period, I met my husband and we got married.

Over the years, the LIFO business was acquired, added more services, and grew into a large enterprise. But the niche specialties of our division were always a bit of a square peg in a round hole. So in early 2020, we were divested/carved out and spun off as our own company. This was just before Covid turned the world upside down. And looking back, the complexities of divestitures proved to be harder than any acquisition. Then in late 2020, the IT Director resigned, and I made the decision to step up into that leadership position with only two weeks notice. Immediately I faced a Mount Everest type climb to learn and navigate all the things to come. Because, right after becoming IT Director, we acquired our first company and soon thereafter, attempted an expansion into Germany. Since then, acquired 3 additional companies, including one that allowed us to expand into the UK. And this journey is still ongoing as we continue to climb mountains into the future.