Q: Tell us about you and your business?

A: I actually just currently started working with Compass and I love what I do. Most of my business comes from my SOI, and I am trying to build my business to gross at least 15M+ per year. I am not part of a team. I have been a real estate agent since 2012.

Q: Tell us about your Family?

A: I have been married to my husband Mark for 16 years and we have 2 girls, Emma (14) and Grace (12)….we also have the greatest puppy ever 🙂

Q: Tell us about your Community?

A: I live in a great community and have a lot of friends that I’ve met through the local schools, I also have great neighbors. The area that I am located in has a great sense of community. It can still be considered a bit of a transitional area. However, the proximity to downtown and other areas make this a very desirable area and is considered the new center of Houston. It is one of the last areas close to the city where you can still get a bit of a yard.

Q: Tell us how you serve or give back in your community?

A: I volunteer at a local food pantry in Spring Branch (my neighborhood). It is a small facility, but feeds almost 400 families per month; since COVID we have been feeding almost 900 families. I recently participated in a program through Compass entitled, Feed the Front Lines, where I have helped raise over 40K to feed essential workers and support local restaurants. I have also volunteered at my daughter’s school and chaired the “Outreach” position there and I co-chair a few others. This committee made sure that disadvantaged children had food during the weekends and during summer, and tried ensuring that they have Christmas presents, shoes, etc. throughout the rest of the year.

I volunteer for a program called “Dec My Room” as well. This group gets a wish list from a child that is in the hospital for over 3 weeks. The wish list contains all of their favorite things and we decorate their room with their suggestions to make them more comfortable while hospitalized. It also seems I find most every abandoned animal…rescue them and re-home them.

Q: How did you come about selecting this cause?

A: Not sure how I actually started with all of these things, they just seem to find me. 🙂 The stray animal bit has been going on since I was a kid. My dad used to get so frustrated with me, but I inherited the trait from him. Helping the disadvantaged gives me the greatest sense of doing something worthwhile. The smallest things that you do can make the biggest difference in people’s lives, and it inspires me. I do things in the name of Jesus and give thanks every day for my blessings and will try to pay it forward as long as I am able. My family puts up with a lot of stray animals and late-night Amazon shopping sprees trying to find the perfect decorations for kids in the hospital.

Q: What are some of the specific things you have done to support this cause?

A: Feed the Front Lines: where we delivered blue ribbons in a box. Inside the box was a card indicating that I had made a donation on their behalf and just simply ask them to tie the blue ribbon on the tree. The person who got the ribbon also had the ability to donate to the cause. I personally delivered over 100… it’s really great seeing blue ribbons in my neighborhood. People were calling me and asking for ribbons because they didn’t want to be left out. 🙂

Food Pantry: initially, I promoted a food drive through the school; I guess that is where it started. I am in the process of orchestrating another through Compass. I volunteer my time and help people shop for food at the pantry, stock shelves, and even buy a couple of cases of something every time I grocery shop.

My children are now in middle school, so am no longer volunteering at the school, but I still help when needed.

Dec My Room: I’ve shopped and decorated about 6 different children’s rooms. Since COVID, this has ceased until further notice.

Q: What has been the impact on the community, your team, and family?

A: I think the best way to teach my children is by example. They both have caring, philanthropic hearts and LOVE animals. They also volunteer at the food pantry when needed. I think the community knows I am sincere with my outreach and it grows my relationships organically.

My community loved the blue ribbon event! There are blue ribbons everywhere.

Q: What are your plans going forward?

A: To keep on assisting where I am needed and to continually pay it forward!

Q: How would you recommend agents or brokers get started if they want to make a difference?

A: Find a passion, or even if it is not a passion…find something that will make you say, “I am so glad I did that today.” It is not millionaires that make the biggest difference in the world. I believe passionately, it is ‘everyday people’ that take the time to give themselves to any cause that makes the difference.