This March, a Tribute to the Women Who Made Me

Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions women have made to history, culture, and society. On the personal level, it feels like the perfect time to celebrate some of the incredible women who have shaped my life and career, and express my deep gratitude.

Let’s start with my mom, Rennie Siebenhar, who has one of the sharpest, most curious minds I’ve ever encountered. Her voraciousness as a reader means that she’s in not one, but six (!) book clubs. She taught me to look for the positive and to give people the benefit of the doubt. She has always been supportive of my creative mind, filling my young hands with art supplies, construction paper, fabric, glue, tape, and the musical instruments where I would find my calling. She is a creative soul whose magic looks like imagination, play, fun, positivity, flow, learning, and irreverence, depending on the occasion.

I’m thankful for the guidance of the brilliant Andrea Ridilla, the Oboe Professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where I grew up. Andrea agreed to become my oboe teacher while I was in high school, although she had a full studio of university students. Thanks to Andrea, I learned the art and science of playing the oboe. We had many mind-expanding hours of making reeds, talking shop, playing duets. We even made an early-morning date to watch Princess Diana’s funeral together. I treasure those memories dearly.

Andrea invited Joseph Robinson, Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic, to her studio in Oxford to teach a masterclass, followed by his recital and a dinner at a local restaurant. Andrea’s generosity meant I had the good fortune of being invited to not just meet Joe, but also play a few scales for him and tag along at dinner. From there, to my surprise, Joe invited me to study with him at Manhattan School of Music (MSM). Andrea was the catalyst for the amazing direction my life took after high school, moving to New York City at 18.

Upon graduating from MSM with my master’s degree, I sat with my best friend at a pizzeria on St. Mark’s Place and made my life plan on the back of a napkin. I wanted to make an impact, I wanted to be creative, and I wanted to have anything but a 9-to-5 job. While attending the Monteux School festival in Maine the summer after graduate school, I applied to the Program Assistant job at Midori & Friends, a music education nonprofit in NYC that brings music to public schools.?

Enter Judi Linden, who offered me the job (whose hours, propitiously, were 10 to 6). I thrived in that role, which tapped both my creativity and my penchant for systems and process. I loved meeting Midori -- a visionary artist, activist, and educator -- and holding her Guarneri violin when she needed a hand. I enjoyed helping the organization to grow. Judi taught me what successful fundraising looks like. It’s there I wrote my first few grants, including my first National Endowment for the Arts grant, which was funded. Judi took risks on me – trusting me with a new program, a new curriculum, and stewardship of a major donor – but her guidance was never far away. Judi continues as a mentor, guide, and soul sister. I am forever grateful for her love and support.

When I moved to Carnegie Hall, the irrepressible Sarah Johnson had just taken the helm of the Weill Music Institute, the education arm of the organization. Under Sarah’s leadership, I participated in my first strategic planning process and worked with Misty Tolle to lead a successful redesign of WMI’s elementary school curriculum, teacher professional development, and concerts. I’m proud that these redesigned programs continue to serve as the foundation of WMI’s school-based programs. From Sarah, I learned the value of asking questions, how to prepare for and conduct a meeting, and so many elements of professional and corporate life I had not learned in conservatory.?

The audacious scope of Sarah’s vision and her facility to put in place the elements needed to manifest that vision were constantly inspiring. She also modeled the leadership values of self-awareness and dedication to self-development (what I now call “inner work”) while elevating high-value teamwork. She also awakened in me an appetite for big ideas, frameworks, and community. Thanks to Sarah, I had the privilege of working directly with arts education icons Eric Booth, Russell Granet, and Thomas Cabaniss. And we had fun!

At the Kennedy Center, I couldn’t have gotten by without Marie Mattson, Maria Kersten, and Sunshine Deffner.

I also deeply appreciate the many women who in Miami who have shaped my life and career:?

• Beth Boone, who initially showed me around, provided full-of-heart and grounded guidance, and opened to me the world of Miami arts;?
• Deborah Margol, whose mastery of seamlessly navigating a million competing priorities and agendas while remaining calm, kind, and focused has blown my mind for nearly a decade now;?
• Charisse Grant, who made a bet on me as a Miami Fellow, the most formative program in my professional life thus far and which introduced me to the magic changemakers of this community and helped me discover that Miami is my true home;?
• Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, whose entrepreneurial spirit and desire to help changemaker leaders succeed has inspired millions in funding and seeded a community of peers where there wasn’t one—and who was the first to hire me as a coach, even though I had no idea what that meant at the time;
• Maureen O’Brien, with whom I’ve been colleagues and friends with since 2007 at Midori & Friends, and later was lucky to work with at New World Symphony. Maureen is like the Colorado River: quiet and methodical, and highly effective at achieving seemingly impossible aims, until you sit back and realize she’s done it, and faster than anyone could have dared imagine. I deeply admire her talent and professionalism. I am grateful for how she has built diverse, highly effective teams with heart, passion, all while raising transformative, record-breaking funds—truly a star!
• I remember casually mentioning during my Miami Fellowship in 2015 that it would be cool to be an adjunct university professor someday; in 2020, that reality manifested through Tyler Tornaben Guiliano and Watson Institute at Lynn University. Tyler’s passion for social entrepreneurship, heart-full leadership, and incredible talents for team-building and nurturing talent stand apart in a world all their own. I’m grateful to Tyler for seeing possibility and value in me as an educator, and for her tireless championing and support of everyone she encounters. I’ve been fortunate to see her career take off in huge ways at Watson, and I’m inspired by how she navigates the constantly-changing demands and opportunities of a startup social impact incubator as it grows and evolves.?

Most of all, I’m grateful for the clients who have invested in me as a coach, consultant, and peer. I am astounded by our work together, and especially their trust and faith in me as a guide, and supporter, and co-creator:?

• Jamie Sutta, a wholehearted, visionary leader whose work continues to grow and inspire a community of young people, and a friend I deeply value and appreciate;
• The inimitable Leigh-Ann Buchanan, whose brilliant mind and committed work has forever shaped innovation, impact, equity, and business in South Florida and beyond;?
• Gaby Guzman, who invited me to be part of a loving, courageous community I didn’t know I needed;?
• Mileyka Burgos-Flores, a sheer force of nature who does not respond to “no,” and whose collaboration and heart I didn’t realize would become part of my solid ground;?
• Andrea Beyer, my first team hire, whose partnership and willingness to venture into new territory with me meant a new level of growth, collaboration, commitment, and joy for my company;?
• Tamika Bickham, for following her instinct to coach with me, and from there has become my sister in entrepreneurship as both of our businesses have started, grown, and evolved. I’m thrilled to now be a client of hers, supporting her superpower: the magic of storytelling; and
• Nadia Payan, my partner in enjoyable and exciting accountability, not to mention high vibes, courage, vision, and transformation.

I am deeply moved by and grateful for all of them, and for the many other women who are not named here, but who have been vital on my path to becoming who I am. They have helped me learn about myself and step into my purpose, with courage, love, and joy. Together, we have made history.?

I hope this post inspires you to express and share how the women in your life have impacted you and your life or professional pathway. Thank you all, and Happy Women’s History Month!