I'm so glad you asked.  I must admit, it is a bit unorthodox.  The short story is this.  I've loved DIY for decades.  I have a bunch of tools, don't mind getting dirty and I love fun, pretty shoes.   Did I mention I love pretty shoes?

Let me pause for a moment to say that, if you are as healthy, wealthy, sexy and wise as you have ever wanted to be, you have come to the wrong place. 

But, before you leave this site, please send me an e-mail or take my phone number and give me a call, because I want to be you when I grow up,   And--if you're willing to share--I would really like to take a page from your book.

Still here?  Then, here's the expanded version.  I completed my first home improvement project when I was 15, (nearly decapitating myself with the fruits of my labor later that night as I slept).  I completed my first auto mechanic project when I was 19, (rendering my car inoperable for the better part of a day).  I know what you're thinking--DIY TV shows, YouTube videos, the Internet.  These things did not exist.  This was back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Cars had things like carburetors, and in my case, points.  You had to learn how to do things the old fashioned way--books, someone teaching you, and trial and error.  Lots of trial and error, in my case.  Fast forward to DIY TV with shows like Trading Spaces and While You Were Out  featuring woman carpenters like Amy Wynn Pastor and Leslie Segrete, to expand my vision of what was possible.  Not only were they gifted carpenters, but they did it with style.  I still often say, "If I had known I could have eventually gotten a TV show out of the deal, I would have dressed a lot 'cuter' when I was making those runs to the home improvement and auto parts stores."   These days, my on-the-fly go-to for home improvement help is See Jane Drill's Leah Bolden.  She is fab!

There's just something about creating, repairing, restoring, remodeling or re-purposing a thing that I've always found very rewarding and extremely empowering.  Whether it was driving my car in total confidence after completing a brake job, rocking a room, stripping and refinishing a hardwood floor, or repairing an A/C unit, I've always loved being able to say, "I did that", as I surveyed and reveled in the fruits of my handiwork.  Some projects are more challenging than others.  Sometimes I have my learning curve to thank.  Other times, they are simply more labor intensive and time consuming.  Through it all, I still find the process therapeutic.

I have been a wellness advocate for as long as I can remember.  Before Dr. Oz changed the game for folks like me, I was considered, "out there".  Now I'm a "visionary" who was ahead of her time.  It was when I began to explore holistic healing  that I was able to truly embark upon an inner healing journey to rebuild the wreckage that my life--fraught with issues of low self esteem and self sabotage--had become.  As a survivor of bullying, sexual assault and intimate partner abuse, I made the same mistake most people make.  I believed that the areas of my life--personal / professional; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual--existed in isolation.  Let me just say for the record, they do not.   Yet, because of this thinking, it would be years before I would see that (and how) the sexual assault I survived in college was militating against my professional success. 

In the process of doing my mental and emotional work, I developed a desire to grow spiritually.  This was when I first began to discover that God has a sense of humor.  It was during one of my more challenging projects that God began to use that project to speak to me about a personal challenge I was having at the time.   It would be during these projects / "therapy sessions" that God, in dealing with me, would draw upon my penchant for DIY,  as well as the construction training and professional experience I gained working for a home builder to help me realize that building the life of my dreams is a full on construction project!  Like most construction projects, it hasn't always been pretty, nor is it a one person show.  Maybe yours is not the full on construction project that mine has been.  Maybe you just need or want a minor renovation.  Perhaps you want to upgrade, update or spruce up some things.  Whatever the case, you will not do it alone.

"Each one teach one", my tile class instructor would say after each demonstration.  He not only empowered us to do the thing, he also empowered us to support one another on the journey.  In the same vein, as Your Toolbox Diva®, Transformation Strategist, (and fellow Champion Under Construction®), my goal is to empower you with the tools to help you realize the best possible version of yourself, support you on that journey;  and empower you to support your fellow travelers.  From the foundation to the finishing touches, I share the personal empowerment and personal development tools and strategies I have discovered for "building tomorrow's champions today®".   

I love bringing entertaining and interactive keynotes, seminars and empowerment sessions to small, midsize and large businesses, professional groups, clubs, organizations and associations, colleges and young adult groups, youth and youth educator groups; and community, nonprofit and faith based organizations.  An active servant in the community, I regularly give back in service to our youth, the disenfranchised and the dis-empowered.  If you are forward-thinking, bold and visionary with an eye toward the future,  let's partner.   

A Few More Things You Might Like to Know About Me

Author:

  • Reach Your Greatness (Selected by James Malinchak, of ABC's hit television show, Secret Millionaire, as a contributor)

  • A-Z Guide to Student Safety (In pre-publication)

  • Real Estate Executive Magazine (Feature Columnist)

  • Premier Agent Magazine (Feature Columnist)

  • Small Business Today Magazine (Feature Columnist)

Other Media