The

RECIPE

of my

LIFE

MY FAVORITE DAY OF ALL, JULY 27, 1988

A Leo Is Born

I am a Leo through and through. Lover of the spot light, courageous, fabulous hair, and kind hearted. Leo Sun, Capricorn Moon, Aires Rising. I am a 4/6 Manifestor here to change the world. I was awarded the Herman-Mitchell Schwartz Award for my contribution to the achievement of equality of opportunity and treatment for women.

SKIPPING PRE-SCHOOL

Coloring Books & Board Meetings

Instead of going to pre-school, I sat in the cat-bird seat of my dad’s pickup truck and brought my coloring book and crayons to board meetings and negotiations. We had fun seeing how much I could absorb and surprised those who underestimated a child at the board table. I learned about S-Corp’s and tax strategies as I was learning multiplication, and was helping my mom with taxes by third grade.  

CLIMBING TREES AND MAKING FUR FRIENDS

From Somewhere 
To Nowhere

We moved to a 140 acre farm in Chester County, PA when I was ten. The closest grocery store was twenty minutes away. After having lived on the highway where I would play puppet with the shadows of my feet on the wall as headlights drove by, the silence was enormous, and so were the fields and sky. The expansiveness was breathtaking and the adventures kicked my imagination in overdrive. It’s where I learned that anything is possible, and I am capable of anything.  

FROM DOING BACK FLIPS TO WEARING A BACK BRACE

All the Sports,
All the Time

I absolutely love anything athletic and anything outdoors. I played three sports a season and went to nationals as a cheerleader. This is where I fell in love with the process of preparation.  I love to have an idea of what I want to accomplish and take every next step I can think of to make that dream come true.  I am an everyday evolution of myself to be the best I can be.  It is the journey that inspires me, the present moment that I love to live in, and the outcome becomes inevitable.  Sports helped me build my resilience and confidence and continues to do so today. Everything we do bleeds into all of the other areas of our lives. We build strength and courage each time we show ourselves what we can overcome.  

WHAT, LIKE IT’S HARD?

Inspired by the Infamous Elle Woods

I went from studying in the sun to being buried in books while all of my best friends enjoyed their Senior year of college. I didn’t fit in. I was told I wouldn’t succeed. I was told I should just marry a hedge fund guy. So, I studied day and night, made it to the top of my class, earned a job a top firm, got my JD & MBA at Villanova University in three years, and was honored with incredible awards and accolades.  

SECRETLY TURNING OFF ALL OF MY NOTIFICATIONS

Panic Attacks & 
Working in Big Law

It was all good, until it wasn’t. After law school, I started to have panic attacks. I was so excited to be a lawyer, and then I was working twelve plus hour days for months. I was taking over senior associate work on transactions as a first year as one after another left the firm. I was fainting in the middle of conversations and was tested for 30+ autoimmune diseases, due to the impacts of the stress on my body. I wanted to learn and be a lawyer so I could be the best entrepreneur I could be. But the cost was mounting, so I started saving money so I could leave and start my business. After seven years, I felt like I had reached the point of diminishing returns. At that point, I wasn’t learning that much more, and I had saved enough to give me a long runway to figure out how to start a business.   

WHERE YOUR FUR FRIENDS ARE WELCOME

Creating a Space that Feels Like Home

I needed space for our team and started envisioning my dream space to work. Something that felt like home, that’s lush with plants, pet friendly and has great snacks. I had never been to a coworking space, but I decided to start one in July, started construction in November and opened Flourish Coworking Space in January. It’s a lush, sustainable and inspiring space to cowork, host events and has an energy and intention to support you in your life, career and business.  

CAUSING MAYHEM AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT

Built-In 
Best Friends

I have two younger sisters, Lisa and Lindsay, who mean the world to me. Lisa is my free-spirit wild child, Scorpio through and through. She paves an unchartered path, and you’ll hear her a mile away. Lindsay is my calm, kindest person you’ll ever meet, for sure a Capricorn. She is the glue that always held us all together. My favorite moments are when we’re all together. It’s loud, it’s fun and it makes my heart happy.

DANCING ON CAT IGLOOS

Monkey See, 
Monkey Do

Both of my parents are entrepreneurs. They inspire me tremendously and taught me so many of my philosophies in life by their actions more so than their words. That family comes first, that you can do anything you want with hard work, and that there is no better tool for achieving your dreams than learning and education.  

CONQUERING CLASSROOM CITY

Welcome to 
San Francesco

I started my first business in fourth grade, in Classroom City, a game where you would create your business and sell your goods or services to the class. The business with the most profit at the end of the game won. The winner got to name next year’s Classroom City after them, and I chose San Francesco. My teacher, Mrs. Salerni, is a large part of the reason I started to jump ahead in school (in addition to all my time spent in the cat-bird seat). She allowed me to study math several years ahead of where I was, which enabled me to take college courses in high school.

STUDYING BY THE POOL & PLAYING VOLLEYBALL

Triple Majored 
in Three Years

Growing up listening to Bloomberg TV (business news), I was set on studying International Business. I got into University of South Carolina, the number one school for International Business, and fell in love on my first trip there, soaking in the sun under the palmettos while the Northeast was still a cold rainy mess in March. I stacked my classes in the morning so I could study by the pool in the afternoon. I have a love for learning, and kept finding classes I wanted to take in business, so I ended up triple-majoring in three years in International Business, Finance and Real Estate. It would have been quadruple-majoring (in Economics as well), but I wanted a head start on going to law school.  

MAKING MY FIRST EVENING GOWN

The Road to the Crown, Miss PA USA

In between studying for the exams, I started making evening gowns for photoshoots and fun. I placed first runner up at Miss PA USA and got to wear a gown that I designed, sewed by hand (with no experience), spent 200 hours creating, and decorated with thousands of Swarovski crystals in front of hundreds of people. Training at 5 am, meal prepping and preparing for interviews. Competing in pageants has prepared me to succeed in so many areas of my business and life.

FROM MY COUCH TO MY COWORKING SPACE

Creating a “Come as You Are” Culture

After leaving big law, I planned to start slow, write a book and create contract templates and courses. I was only two weeks in when a former client tracked me down on Facebook and LinkedIn, and I landed a $4 billion deal with a Fortune 500 client as my first deal. So, I quickly started Dean Street Law and vowed to make it unlike any other law firm. I started a “come as you are” culture where employees could wear whatever they wanted to do their best work (no makeup required) with positive work policies. Our client base and work load grew very quickly, so I scaled the business to six figures and a team of 8 in just a few months.   

FROM A PICNIC BLANKET WITH MY GOATS

Writing the Next 
Chapter of Life

Now, The Shop filled with courses and business resources; purchased my dream farm, renovated two luxury farm stays and launched Ethereal Farms, got back to writing my books that will be published this year, and am so excited to compete at Miss Pennsylvania USA.  We hold the pen to write our story, and I'm so excited to see where this goes.