Rising, Leading, Transforming: My Journey to the Herizon Founder & Visionary Award

Every once in a while, an honor comes along that reflects not just what you do, but why you do it. That’s what the 2025 Herizon Awards represent: a global recognition of women who are reshaping the workplace, elevating leadership, and driving meaningful transformation across industries and continents.

When I learned that I had been selected as a Founder / Visionary honoree in the very first year of this awards program, I felt both deeply humbled and incredibly energized. This category honors the trailblazers, the entrepreneurs who build something from nothing, the leaders who see systems not as fixed structures but as opportunities for reinvention, the visionaries who imagine a better future and then roll up their sleeves to create it.

Standing among these global leaders is an honor I do not take lightly.

A Year of Expansion, Growth, and Impact

The past 12 months have been some of the most impactful of my career. My work as an adjunct faculty member, executive coach, speaker, and consultant has grown in ways I never expected, but always hoped for.

I had the privilege of speaking to more than 400 women at Wintrust’s Women’s History Month event, where we explored courage, confidence, and what it means to lead authentically. I watched students light up in the classroom as they discovered their own leadership voices. I coached executives through breakthroughs that reshaped their teams and their organizations. I earned additional certifications to deepen my expertise and expand what Avail Consulting can offer.

Transformation was everywhere, in boardrooms, classrooms, conversations, and communities.

And I didn’t just witness it. I helped create it.

A Story That Started Long Before This Award

My journey to this recognition spans more than 25 years, crossing the battlefield, the corporate world, and higher education.

As a West Point graduate and one of the first women to serve in combat during Desert Storm, I learned leadership in the harshest conditions, not from textbooks, but from responsibility, courage, and the lives entrusted to my care.

As a business leader and founder of Avail Consulting, I transformed that experience into a mission:

Help people be better leaders so they can change the world for good.

Today, I’m an executive coach, trainer, TEDx speaker, faculty member, and advisor. I serve on the Advisory Board of the Association of Graduates at West Point and mentor young people preparing to serve our nation. I teach at Elmhurst University. I consult with organizations striving for cultures of compassion, trust, and effectiveness.

And through it all, one purpose drives me forward:
To help leaders rise,  especially women.

Redefining Leadership, One Voice at a Time

If there’s one message I shout from the rooftops, it’s this:
People should be led, not managed.

That message became the heart of my TEDx talk, “Lead People, Manage Projects,” where I challenged outdated leadership mindsets and encouraged a future built on emotional intelligence, purpose, and humanity.

Over the past year, I’ve watched this philosophy change lives.

Executives have reconnected to their strengths.
Teams have rebuilt trust.
Organizations have shifted their cultures.
Students have found clarity and confidence.

The Herizon judges asked what meaningful transformation I’d created. My answer was simple:

I help people lead better so people can live better.

And the ripple effects are extraordinary.

What Makes This Recognition Meaningful

There are many gifted leaders in the world, but what makes my journey unique is the intersection of three very different worlds:

the battlefield, the boardroom, and the classroom.

These experiences taught me resilience, empathy, strategy, and strength, a combination I now pour into every coaching session, keynote, and training program. Coupled with certifications in over a dozen leadership and behavioral tools, I can tailor development to each individual and organization with precision and care.

But tools alone aren’t what make the difference.
It’s the heart behind them.
It’s the courage to coach honestly.
It’s the compassion to guide people toward their best selves.
It’s the belief that leadership is a privilege, one that should always serve others.

Overcoming Challenges With Grit and Grace

Leading in male-dominated environments, from the U.S. Army to corporate consulting to executive coaching, has not always been easy. Bias, skepticism, and cultural barriers were real. Transitioning from military to corporate life required reinvention. Starting a business demanded resilience. Navigating the post-pandemic leadership landscape required agility and innovation.

But adversity sharpens purpose.
Every challenge strengthened my commitment to redefine leadership for the next generation.

And today, the obstacles I’ve overcome allow me to help leaders face their own with courage and clarity.

The Results That Matter Most

In the past year alone, the impact has been visible and measurable:

• Leadership teams I coached have improved trust, communication, and alignment.
• Hundreds were inspired toward new growth during Wintrust’s Women’s History Month event.
• Avail Consulting’s WBENC certification expanded opportunities to serve corporations and government agencies committed to diversity.
• My TEDx message spread across industries, influencing how leaders engage their people.
• In university classrooms, students gained the skills and confidence to lead their generation forward.

These results are meaningful not because they highlight my work, but because they highlight the leaders who stepped into transformation.

Legacy, Impact, and What Comes Next

The Herizon Awards were created to honor women who are redefining success — women who shape workplaces, empower communities, and elevate the world around them.

To receive this recognition as a Founder / Visionary is not just a celebration of what I’ve done.
It’s a call to continue.
To push harder.
To lift higher.
To keep building pathways for women to rise.

My work is not about me, it’s about every leader I help grow, every student I teach, every team I strengthen, and every organization I serve. The legacy I aim to build is one where leadership grounded in character, compassion, and purpose becomes the standard, not the exception.

And with this Herizon honor, that mission only becomes more powerful.