General Manager,
CanyonRanch Wellness Retreat -Woodside

Author, Speaker

My passion is to elevate humanity and increase the health, happiness, well-being and success of individuals, organizations, and communities. This is reflected in my career and personal creative pursuits. I have a diverse professional background in sales, management, marketing, communications, speaking and writing in industries such as B2B and consumer publishing, advertising, high tech, health and wellness, metaphysics, education, and hospitality.  

For my complete work history, education and certifications, please visit my LinkedIn profile.

For more info about me, my spirit and my passions, keep reading....

Embrace Change

I have embodied a spirit of change through innovation and reinvention throughout my career with leadership positions in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors and in diverse industries such as trade magazine publishing, consumer book publishing, health and wellness, metaphysics, education, hospitality and high tech. I have been a salesperson, advertising manager, publisher, CEO, executive director, author, lyricist, scriptwriter, inspirational speaker, Internet show host, health & wellness teacher, business consultant, hypnotherapist, and realtor! Having a variety of skills in different industries allows me to think outside the box. What I love most is inspiring people to be happy, healthy and successful in life, work and home. That can take many forms in my daily life from giving life, fitness or relationship advice (when asked) to sharing a recipe (or the entire cooked meal)!

Turn Challenges into Opportunities

Back in the day, when I was the publisher of Network Computing Magazine and publishing director of Internet Week, there were only a handful of female publishers and none as young as me. It was a rewarding career path, but during the height of it, I suffered devastating tragedies in my family. In a period of four years, I lost four family members—one from suicide. These experiences changed the trajectory of my life and career. I could’ve wallowed in self-pity, but instead, I decided to turn my experience into something positive. I left my corporate job and executive compensation and started writing books to help people overcome challenges in life. That launched a whole new career as a personal growth expert and speaker, with an emphasis on increasing one’s self-awareness and happiness.

I knew first hand that personal growth was intrinsically linked to professional success, and that to be a great leader, you need a healthy dose of self-worth and compassion for others as well as a keen set of tools to manage stress and change. Since I started writing books, I have spoken to, written about and advised thousands of business groups and individuals alike in adopting healthy lifestyle and work habits from active exercise to passive meditation (which corporate circles now call “mindfulness”).

Keep Reinventing Yourself

In 2010, I was asked to join Stillheart Institute as Executive Director (and later became CEO) to launch the organization as a spiritual, health and wellness retreat center. I never planned to run a nonprofit, overnight facility and clients who ranged from spiritual gurus to corporate leaders, but it was an amazing experience! After four successful years, I initiated and led the sale of the property and facility. Managing the sale was so interesting to me that I eventually earned a real estate license and became a referral agent.

Another opportunity came my way in 2016 that combined my passion for business leadership with women’s empowerment. I jumped into a contract CEO position for 6 months for Professional Business Women of California (PBWC), a membership organization advancing gender equity and women’s leadership in corporations. Shortly after that, another  position came my way as Interim Executive Director overseeing operations and management for MidPen Media Center operating five public access cable TV channels and MidPen Professional Services offering film production from inception to final editing. After that,  I stepped into a part-time Acting CEO position for 6 months at SHE Living, a media platform and sanctuary created by women for SPIRITED, HEART-CENTERED and EVOLUTIONARY voices, shows and events. Today, I am continuing to spread my passion for health, wellness happiness and doing business with love as the General Manager of CanyonRanch Wellness Retreat - Woodside.

Follow Your Passion

Being creative fuels my spirit. To me, that means telling stories that inspire and empower people through books, articles, songs, talks and film. 

My two nonfiction books are: The Goddess of Happiness:  A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss and Vita’s Will: Real Life Lessons about Life, Death & Moving On. In 2013, I wrote my first novel: Note to Self: Love, with an accompanying screenplay. All of my books have an overarching theme of self-empowerment, self-awareness and self-love. My blog has appeared on multiple platforms including HuffPost, Medium, Mogul and HDCooking. I'm always open to meeting passionate people in the media, music, TV and film industries. That's how stories are told and magic happens!

Have Fun!

I love food (eating, cooking and entertaining) fashion (color and style), fitness (jumping on my trampoline), funky music (from the 70’s), films (without violence), dog kisses, dancing (like nobody’s watching), laughing out loud (healing medicine), my husband (love of my life), our dog "children", and anything Italian (yes, I’m Italian from “Da Bronx”, although I currently live on the CA “left coast”).