Tell me about your roots and what brought you to the Charlotte area and when.
I was born and raised in Pensacola, FL, and couldn't wait to see what the rest of the world had to offer. Education has always been important in my family. My grandmother used to tell me, "No one can ever take your education away from you." I went to undergraduate at Appalachian State, studied sports management at the University of Georgia (and served as an academic advisor for the football team), and finally went to Princeton Theological Seminary for my Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Practical Theology. After seminary, I was a transitional minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Florida and Virginia. Wanting to find roots, I reflected on my life and discovered that in every place I ever lived, the people I was closest to had some connection to North Carolina. My best friends were in Boone and Wilmington, so I packed up, sold my house, and moved to NC.
I found my first call in Salisbury, NC, and spent time exploring Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte. I quickly fell in love with Charlotte and began calling it home in 2012. One of the first events I attended was a young professional recruitment event for the Robinson Center. I loved how Charlotte's organization focused on civic innovations to solve community issues. After I fell in love with Charlotte, I fell in love with a Charlottean and knew this would be home forever.
Over the past twelve years in Charlotte, I've seen the good, bad, and ugly of this place I call home. While we are flawed and have issues, I believe most of my neighbors deeply love this place we call home and are working to improve it.
What’s your favorite spot or thing to do here?
Right now, my favorite spot is Babe and Butcher in Camp North End, I can enjoy beautiful weather, good food and wine, and my kids can play. I love quiet spots where I can enjoy a good glass of wine, amazing food and conversation, such as Aqua e Vino and Bernardin’s; Bond Street Wine is my favorite place for this. As the mother of three kids under six, I visit a lot of parks. Cordelia and Rama Road parks are two of our favorites.
Share a bit about your hopes for the idea that was named "The Big Idea” during The Charlotte Ideas Festival this spring.
In 2017, four days after I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I toured a daycare. At the end of the tour, we paid a $100 application fee and were told we would probably have a spot in two years. I was in the process of interviewing for a dream job and had to withdraw my application immediately. Two years later, when I was pregnant with my second, I was looking at a new daycare center because I was interviewing for another full-time job, which would cost $2700 with a discount. I have watched friends and colleagues struggle to find childcare solutions as the number of available spots seems to shrink.
In 2021, I worked as a Community Engagement Specialist in the Sugar Creek Corridor. I met the Pastor of Derita Presbyterian Church. I learned that their church had done all the work with the state to have their building certified to become a daycare center for 50 children, but they did not have the funding to hire staff or buy supplies to open it. I thought, oh, we can find funding for this. Everyone knows it is an issue. There are churches in Charlotte with great childcare centers and endowments for scholarships, but there is no space in their centers. They could be partners in creating new spots and training new teachers. I talked to several pastors at large churches with endowments for scholarships but no space in their centers and was told that members would not support that money to create new spaces on their property. I contacted all the non-profits that work in the early childhood space, thinking someone must be working to create new spaces to address the childcare shortage. They all agreed it needed to be done and said it was a great idea, but no one was willing to take it on. After hitting brick wall after brick wall, I gave up on finding someone who would work to make it happen.
Even though I wasn't actively working in this space, I continued to read and research the childcare crisis in our city, state, and nation. I kept feeling a tug on my heart that something could be done if someone would do it. Last year, I began working part-time at Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church and learning about the benefits of reactivating historic sacred places in America. I discovered the economic impact that activating underutilized church buildings into community-based programs had on the community. I thought these numbers were finance-centric, and Charlotte would get excited about making it happen (not to mention the economic and workforce impact of having enough childcare in a community). I figured someone was working on creating new spaces by now, and I thought this information might be helpful to them. Once again, I discovered that everyone knew it was a problem, but no one was addressing it. So, I decided to go beyond a one-on-one meeting and entered the Big Idea.
The affirmation from winning The Big Idea has led me to take steps to make Community Transformation for Children a legitimate non-profit. Community Transformation for Children's mission is to address the childcare crisis in Mecklenburg County by transforming unused spaces into community-based childcare and advocating childcare for all in our state and nation. I am working with a few other working mothers to form a board, navigate the 501c3 process, and plan a public launch. We hope to raise funds and open our first center by the fall of 2026. Many believe it is impossible, but as working moms, we do impossible things every day. However, it will take the businesses, government, and community members to invest and work together to address this crisis. We are ready to facilitate that work!
What’s a book, film, TV show or play that has moved you and you’d recommend to others? Why?
The first time I remember being truly moved by a piece of literature was the fall of my first year of high school when I saw Our Town at the Pensacola Little Theatre. I've seen the play numerous times, including on Broadway with Paul Newman. Each time, I find myself rooted in what is truly meaningful in this life. t is the best reminder of how the least essential days are important enough. I have found my love and deep connection to this play renewed as I have become a parent. We have many great, big, important days of celebrations in our family, but I find that, more often than not, the least important days are important enough.
What’s your favorite famous or notable quote that you believe offers words live by?
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” by Frederick Buechner from Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC.
