I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have joined Corporate Citizenship at Avanade full-time, leading our programs in North America. I find everything about my new role exciting — from the impact that we make as a company to the terrific work our volunteers are doing in their own communities individually.

Reflecting on where it all began, in first grade, I won an award for “most likely to become a zoologist” because I would write self-assigned reports about endangered species and hand them in to my teachers every week for a grade. While I didn’t become a zoologist, I have been involved in sustainability initiatives for most of my adult life. I love animals, I love to travel, and I love to learn about new cultures and technologies. My first official job outside of grade school was as a safari guide and field ranger in South Africa, taking guests onto the reserve to educate them on the animals, topography and ecosystems. I worked with my fellow guides and rangers to find ways to better conserve the environment and allow the animals and natural vegetation to thrive. This experience is what led me to pursue a degree in International Business combined with Environmental Conservation and Sustainability.

Since college, I have been trained within many industries, including hospitality, non-profits and tech. However, I have been able to keep up my love of travel and volunteering between being immersed in the jungle of Costa Rica to study howler monkeys, volunteering at local schools, and being involved with the Wounded Warrior Project.

Sustainability and social responsibility are something I was exposed to at a very young age. My family has always been heavily invested in social causes and sustainability in our communities — both my parents inspire me constantly to this day. My father, Michael, is a U.S. Marine Veteran who also works at Avanade and leads the Veterans Employee Network in the Northeast. He is deeply connected with the veterans in our community and is the local Commander for the American Legion Post 40. He has always encouraged me and my siblings to give back and support our veterans either locally or with active and retired service member organizations.

My mom, Dee, has inspired many of my sustainable practices and mindset. Since I was a little girl, we have always been very involved in our community, working with local non-profits, building with habitat for humanity or supporting our local police and fire departments. About 15 years ago, she started an online magazine around sustainability and reducing your carbon footprint — a turning point in her career. Since then, she has dedicated herself to initiatives to preserve and sustain our natural resources around the world.

Furthermore, she has become a green project jetsetter, driving many sustainability projects in Western Africa. Most of her energy is focused on a mangrove rehabilitation project between the coasts of Ghana and Nigeria. She’s also working on building hemp farms, solar projects, and recycling programs in both countries. She is now meeting with US and European ambassadors in Ghana and Nigeria to scale support and emphasize the importance of all these projects locally and to the world. 

Due to her projects surrounding carbon credits and mangrove rehabilitation, she was invited to participate in Avanade’s annual FUEL: Innovation, Leadership and Technology Conference. This year we hosted over 400 STEM scholars and summer interns from 198 universities and academies across 16 countries — in addition to over 100 speakers, Hackathon mentors and internal support.

My mom participated in a panel with one of our leaders in sustainability, Miranda Hill, to speak about where we are as a world and what paths we need to take to navigate our climate issues, pollution, and displaced people. The feedback from students and mentors was so positive that she’s been invited back to present next year with updates on her projects!

A lot has happened since I joined Avanade in August of 2021, I can’t tell you how excited I am for the opportunities that have come and those on the horizon from being in this role. I have done a lot in my life; my friends refer to me as a jack of all trades. I take a lot of pride in learning and experiencing new things — a beautiful combination of life events that have brought me to Avanade, and I believe whole-heartedly that this past year has been my greatest achievement. I have been able to use many of the skills I’ve developed over the last 10 years. I am incredibly proud of our Summer of Giving initiative at Avanade in North America. I feel it has brought a new level of awareness of corporate citizenship to our colleagues and leadership and in more ways than one brought people together — something that was highly needed after the limited contact we had during the dark days of the pandemic.

I am thankful to Avanade and our leadership for these wonderful opportunities. I am very excited to drive more impact in our communities, and to see many more of our colleagues and leaders become involved with citizenship activities in FY23 and beyond.

This is my dream role. I can’t wait to see where it takes us as a company, together.