Background

 
 
To those who know that I grew up in the Midwest, my strong sense of self-reliance and readiness to lend a hand to friends and neighbors may come as no surprise. My odd-ball hobbies probably stem from my dad’s admonishment, “don’t be lazy,” and the sensibility that “making stuff” is both fun and resourceful.  We like to preserve and share the bounty of our garden and trees, and hand-crafted Halloween capes, crowns and costumes fill our basement. My 2 cats are happily taking up any excess attention that my 3 grown children no longer require, though any spare moment or energy is currently directed towards my new consumer health start-up (in stealth mode now, but watch this space for more details.)
 

What you should know


undergrad:

Stanford, BS Product Design Engineering;

Semester at Sea


Grad:

Stanford, MS Mechanical Engineering/ Product Design


mba:

Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley


experience highlights:

Innovation Director and Strategy Principal, IMS Health;

Strategy Consulting Engagement Manager, Strategic Decisions Group; Founder, Samson-McCann children’s furniture;

Design Engineer, IDEO


ACademic lecturer:

Stanford Graduate Course, “Forecasting for Innovators”;

Stanford Undergraduate Course, “Visual Thinking”;

Stanford Center for Professional Development, “Strategic Innovation”

about me

my dad’s ’75 El Dorado, and yes, that’s the Golden Gate Bridge   

photo/art by Tom Upton

some of my favorites...


Pro-bono work:

Mosaic Project (Diversity Education) Strategic Planning and Board of Director support


inspiration opportunity:

Featured Graduation Speaker, University of San Francisco International Business School


insight on the role government in healthcare:

Grant Reviewer and Stakeholder Representative, NIH Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Board (PCORI)


recent nerdy past-time:

Haas Health Hackathon


Personal Motto:

“In every cloud, there’s a silver lining” - Eve Benjamin


FAMILY: