I am the eldest of six children and the descendent of immigrants. 

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My mother was born in New York City to parents who, as had so many others, emigrated from Ireland via Ellis Island. 

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My father’s journey here from Estonia was hardly as thought out or planned.  Rather, after Russian soldiers burst into the family’s home in the early days of WW II and forced everyone onto a truck for delivery to a concentration camp, he was “liberated” by invading German soldiers, but then conscripted into their war effort.  Escaping, he became a refugee in Sweden, was later shipwrecked north of the Bermuda Triangle, and ultimately finally found his way to Manhattan via Ellis Island.  The Estonian Lutheran church in NYC sponsored the refugees, providing homes/rooms with fellow Estonians and jobs for each.  My father was renting a room in an apartment across the hall from a certain Joan Duffy…and they married about six months later.

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Growing up, no one ever asked me if I “could” do something; so I never questioned whether it was within my capabilities…I just did whatever I was asked.

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My father worked in the construction industry. He and a friend started their own general contracting business when I was three years old. I accompanied my dad on estimates at a very young age and when I was ten years old, he taught me how to read blueprints and how to draw them.  I did this for eight years until the NYC Buildings Department decided that they wouldn’t approve plans not drawn up by an architect. I then created them for the architects who copied them (often with far less precision).

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Working various part-time jobs throughout my teen years, after high school I went to work at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Fifth Avenue while attending Lehman College.

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My professional experience began with small to medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits and that led to Fortune 500 companies such as GE, Merrill Lynch and Pitney Bowes.

Positions I have held have included from technician, data analyst, auditor, paralegal, administration and management, finance, system implementation, industrial engineering and business consulting to the C-Suite. Wherever I worked, I left it better than when I arrived by streamlining workflow, improving profitability and negotiating/renegotiating contracts more favorable to the business, stakeholders and employees. I successfully handled audits that eliminated all penalties. I am a decision-maker who considers all sides of how the conclusions I draw will affect everyone in the mix. I have been told that I often made the impossible happen, something of which I am proud.

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More importantly, I want to do that for Palm Bay.

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My family purchased the Palm Bay home in which I live more than 33 years ago, and it has been my primary residence for most of that time.  I retired and settled here for good ten years ago. While family and career responsibilities often kept me away, Palm Bay is where I have always found comfort.  I have had some wonderful neighbors and friends in Palm Bay and was able to become more active in community issues after devoting several years tending to seriously ill family members up north and in Palm Bay. 

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I am a member of: the Apollo XI Parliamentarian Unit of the NAP; BREC; FRWA; RWCB; the Prosperity Initiative and I’m a volunteer at the Marine Resource Council.

While I have no doubt that all those seeking positions on the City Council can point out the problems with which Palm Bay is struggling, I believe I have the experience and skillset to bring solutions that will be a win for all citizens of Palm Bay.

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I am not a politician. I have not spent years pursuing public office or moving around from one city to another just because there is a position to be had.

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I don’t have a political action committee paying my campaign expenses because the only people I will ever owe my efforts to are the voters, the people of Palm Bay, those who have invested in this community and are entitled to enjoy the fruits of that investment.

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I’m not afraid to “rock the boat” when it is needed.

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I promise to be the one person that Palm Bay residents can trust to return it to a safe and peaceful city that protects the standard of living we all have a right to expect.

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I will ask the questions you want answered and I will not ignore your concerns…ever!