I have been in the field of food manufacturing for 20 years and in the confection manufacturing industry with See's Candies for 7 years. I went into the industry because I have a passion for food. In high school I knew I would go into either nutrition (I was an athlete) or something else dealing with food.

I have a BS in Food Science and Nutrition from Central Michigan University. I have an HACCP certification and am a SQF practitioner. I am certified in Confectionary Technology, Chocolate Technology and I am a Certified Chocolatier. I am also certified in low acid foods. I studied culinary arts in Mexico and Japan.

The biggest challenge for me has been being a single mom and sole provider for my household while raising a disabled son and achieving work-life balance.

I am a very positive person and I am an intuitive, innovative, out of the box thinker! I am passionate about what I do and dedicated. I am also an honest person and a great team builder - I believe in working collaboratively.

In my profession, I created a multi-million dollar seller in the retail food market while successfully raising my children.  I also dealt with my daughter having cancer at a very young age and successfully being with her during the day and continuing my career at night. Thankfully she has been cancer free for 18 years now.

Personally, this year I changed the way I value myself. I always viewed any failure as my own, however I am more accepting of the fact that I can't fix the world but I can be the best I can be and have expectations.

Professionally, my goal is to land a managerial or executive level position in the food industry in a company I can be passionate about and continue to develop new products. I have started putting my name out there to move in that direction.

What inspires me is my passion to learn something new and grow everyday.

I want to be remembered as someone who contributed positive things to the world, and for being a good person that all could rely and depend on.

• Food Manufacturing Industry Professionals
• Southern California Institute of Food Technologists Section
• Research Chef Association
• American Candy Technologists

• No Texting While Driving Org.

I love spending time with my family and time in the outdoors. I love going to ocean and I enjoy biking, swimming and, of course, cooking.