Who is this person running for council?

Since I got my city council petition signatures, things have been pretty busy!

People have asked me why I'm running for council. I was on the fence about it. I've not been happy at all with certain aspects of city government and believe I have the ability and drive to make effective changes. But, I knew running for council would be a serious commitment. Was I ready to make that commitment?

Well, I challenged myself that sitting around and complaining doesn't get you anything. Taking action changes things. So, that decided me.

I've always been a doer, a person that isn't daunted by challenges.

I've faced challenges in my life. Probably the biggest challenge in my life is my disability, spina bifida. I'm very fortunate, in that I have a mild version of this disability. Most people born with spina bifida, as I was, are completely paralyzed. I was paralyzed at age four, but had spinal surgery at the Pittsburgh Children's Hospital. I walked out of the hospital, but with partial paralysis. I had about 20 operations up until I was 11 ... mostly to correct foot deformities, re-align bones, transplant muscles. I wore leg braces up to my hips until I was 11.

So, childhood was a rough time for me. It seemed I was either in a hospital, recovering with a cast, or getting ready to go to the hospital for surgery.

I give my mother major credit that she never pampered me. If I fell down and cried, she told me to get the heck up and quit feeling sorry for myself (and I fell down a LOT). That's pretty much become my philosophy ... life can knock you down ... but it's the getting up and getting back at it, trying again ... that's how any of us can achieve our dreams. It takes a lot for me to give up. I have no problem with failure. I believe every "failure" teaches you how the next time to be successful. It's part of the learning process.

I think also having a disability has definitely shaped my attitude about people. I GET IT that our bodies don't define us. I know my body does not define my spirit, soul and who I am -- nor anyone else. So, to me it's total BS that people discriminate by race, sex, height, beauty ... all the ways that people find to put each other down for "not being good enough."

Anyway, I grew up, got my BA at Johns Hopkins, the MA at Curtis Institute. When I was younger, my burning desire was to be an opera singer. I did a lot of different jobs while I pursued singing. I've been a landscape helper, day care assistant, groomer at a thorobred breeding farm, secretary, word processer, paralegal, paid soloist at several big churches in Baltimore, 4 years in professional chorus at Baltimore Opera, IT trainer in NY.

When I finally gave up on singing professionally, I went back to school for computer engineering at UCF in Orlando, FL. Now I work in IT, specializing in banking compliance. I've have a contract currently with Citigroup. I've worked for many big firms -- Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, E*Trade. Boy, that's a lot!

I moved to Plainfield 7 years ago when I bought the Coriell Mansion. I've been working all this time on turning it into a bed and breakfast. In another 4-5 months, I hope (please God) that it will be complete.

I found Plainfield to be a wonderful place to live. It's the people. I've made so many friends! People are accepting and warm. I've never experienced that any other place I've lived. It's been great!