What questions do you ask a new Chamber CEO who’s just getting started?

Scroll down for a lively Q&A on her leadership style, her hopes for the Chamber, and even a few personal favorites that might surprise you.

1. Can you tell us a little about your professional journey and what brought you to this role?

While pursuing my teaching credential, I was hired as the second employee at a newly opened craft brewery in Redlands, CA. As the company grew and expanded, I moved from Beer Tender to Retail Manager/Event Coordinator to Marketing Project Coordinator and Community Liaison, including the production of an Anniversary Airshow for 17,000 people.

We later moved to Chico, where I was hired by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. A majority of my time at Sierra Nevada was spent working in the Marketing Department, specifically in Experiential Marketing and Event Production. The Chamber CEO was an opportunity I could not pass up, and now I find myself in the office and ready for this new chapter in my life.

2. What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?

While I often discuss my time as a student-athlete, I rarely mention this particular accomplishment: In 2006, I was a member of the NCAA/Collegiate DIII Women's Water Polo National Championship team (Go Redlands Bulldogs!).

3. What values guide your work and decision-making?

• More often than not, I am not the expert in the room - learn from your friends, opponents, and history.
• Failure is an opportunity: stand by it, learn from it, grow from it.
• Take care of those who take care of you, regardless of your personal accomplishments, someone out there was always rooting for you to succeed.

4. What do you see as the biggest opportunities for local businesses in Chico right now?

Understanding where and how to focus efforts and resources to ensure the maximum positive outcome. I was introduced to the book "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" by Sierra Nevada's new CEO, Pryce Greenow, and have been evangelizing it ever since. The book outlines their approach to strategy, as well as practical examples of their successes and failures that inform their process for developing and monitoring business strategies.

5. What are you looking forward to most about connecting with Chamber members?

Taking a solution-oriented approach to the challenges facing the business community by experimenting with new and different ways to connect businesses with the public.

6. Favorite thing about living in Chico?

Running into people we know everywhere we go. My husband and I have a contest: what Costco aisle will have the first encounter with a coworker/friend? Despite the city's rapid growth and status as the largest city in the north state, we still have the pace and feeling of a close-knit, small-town community.

7. Favorite free thing to do in Chico?

Spending time outdoors. Playgrounds, sports, and walks with friends. Any way I can engage in the environment around me (and get some much-needed Vitamin D).

8. Best view in Chico?

There is a bridge in Lower Bidwell that I commonly use to walk my younger son to school. It's near the midway/3-mile mark in the park. I find it calming to listen to the creek, the sounds of nature, and the murmurs of other park-goers and to meditate (or, better, stew-on) what's rolling around in my brain.

9. What book, podcast, or TED Talk has shaped the way you think about leadership or business?

"Playing to Win" is my current go-to for business and leadership, but another old staple would be Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Its lessons are timeless, and I love the emphasis on active listening and authentic engagement. I believe there is so much to learn from those whose experiences or opinions are different than your own.

10. If we gave you a billboard in the middle of town, what would your message to the business community be?

"Together, this community can accomplish amazing things. Seek knowledge and embrace change."

11. What’s one thing you’d love Chamber members to know about you that doesn’t show up on your résumé?

I make killer lemon bars.