Greetings, GOTR community! I hope this finds you well and having a wonderful month of August. For those I haven't had the chance to meet yet, I wanted to make a minute to introduce myself. I'm our council's Director of Philanthropy; I have the pleasure of working with our incredible supporters. I'm also mom to Brynn, a soon-to-be 5th grader at Lincoln, and Janin, my 4 year old son who is constantly on the move. My passion is sparking connections with people to build just communities that thrive!

I joined the GOTR team two years ago (come October) to address our council's emerging need: to develop new funding streams to support a transformational shift in our program model that took place a few years ago. We went from offering a strictly fee-based program to delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars in free programming each year, with the hopes of bringing the program to more families and breaking down barriers to access and inclusion.

And what a wonderful journey it has been since - expanding our impact and connecting with wonderful people like YOU. I am continuously blown away by your generosity and heart. Every season, hundreds of volunteers, donors, youth, and families rally together to celebrate our youth's potential and make the world a brighter place. Thank you for sharing YOUR star power with us and for filling our community with joy! 

For me, want to know the best part? It's getting to see the effects of this program firsthand... including on my own children like my daughter Brynn who is on the Lincoln Elementary team in Madison. It's been such a special experience for our family having her participate. I got to co-coach her for one season there, along with the team's brilliant coaches, school staff, and families. I've gotten to run with her at our 5Ks - an experience that has brought me more joy than I can express. It's impacted her younger brother,  too. He says, "I think it should be girls and BOYS on the run!" 

Throughout my career, I've served a breadth of missions and movements. I don't know how I got this lucky to work collaboratively with people like you. Please contact me anytime if I can help you fulfill your philanthropic dreams or dreams for the world. I would love to spark a connection with you.