Q. I believe you must constantly be in pursuit of your best self. How have you prioritized doing so over the past year with the world being in a state of constant chaos?

I learned, really learned, how to prioritize. From the pandemic to political and social injustice, I was forced to focus on what I could control and what I could do to be a part of finding solutions to our collective problems. I was driven to reevaluate the meaning of success. Was building a profitable football club my true end game or was there something greater to strive for? Being forced to slow down, focus, and prioritize allowed me to lead a company rooted in purpose and passion to profitability.

Q. Where did you first discover that women were paid less than men?

It’s something I always knew. My mom was a teacher and she used to tell me that the only career choices for women were teachers or nurses. You might say that the lack of options available to my mom, and all women, made me rebellious. I wanted to be anything but a teacher, and I set out to prove I was just as good, if not better, than men. No one could tell me what I couldn’t do.

Q. What one piece of advice would you give your 13 year old self?

I would tell myself to slow down and not be in such a hurry (lessons that were reinforced with the events of this past year). Careers are long and you’ll likely have 4 or 5 of them over your lifetime. And that’s a good thing. I’d tell her the people you work with are as important as the job you do and the pay you get. Build your network and learn, then you can lead. Good leaders know how to listen.

Q. What’s your go-to resource recommendation for learning about business and/ or leadership?

I like reading about companies, their origin stories and how entrepreneurs took an idea and built their empire – books like Good To Great by James C. Collins and The Everything Store by Brad Stones. I was also transformed by Start With Why by Simon Sinek - start with this book!