In my 30 years of conceptualizing, building, and leading businesses, I’ve become a trusted sounding board and Jack of all trades. Whether it’s developing leaders or digging through a P&L, I bring a refreshing and holistic approach to creating, mending, and growing businesses that want to make an impact.

In college, I pursued my love for designing memorable places by studying landscape architecture. I realized that I had a natural gift for working with people, so I decided to change careers, eventually becoming General Manager at Danny Meyer’s iconic first restaurant, Union Square Cafe. Union Square Hospitality Group’s commitment to company culture created a spark within me, and I became eternally committed to empowering people and optimizing businesses from that point on.

Throughout my career at USHG, I had a seat at the table in creating and actualizing functioning businesses. From forming teams to creating SOPs to navigating service, I’ve become a true expert at finessing the qualitative and quantitative aspects of all things business. With Blue Smoke & Jazz Standard, I co-founded, directed and grew a business that would ultimately have more than 175 employees and five units. At Porchlight, I conceived USHG’s first standalone bar, and I led the entire development process, from site selection, financing, design and construction, to developing the menus and hiring the team. With these and many other ventures, I maintained a spirit of entrepreneurship, where I pursued my burning questions of, “What if?”, “Why not?” and “How might we…?” to inspire a spirit of innovation and optimism within our team.

I’m a lifelong learner, and I frequently share my perspective as a speaker, panelist, and guest lecturer. I’ve shared knowledge and insight with students at the Institute of Culinary Education for over a decade, taught the ins and outs of operations as an adjunct instructor at New York University, and have frequently lectured for Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, Columbia University, and NYU.