My husband and I bought our home in Seabrook in 2016 and following retirement in 2018 became permanent residents. We happened upon Seabrook during a trip to Kiawah and fell in love instantly with the North Beach area. We enjoy all the wildlife, the beach, the Club facilities, the Lake House, the friendly and interesting people, and generally- the lifestyle that the Seabrook community offers.
I am aware that these great amenities don’t just happen – they are planned and are the result of deliberate actions taken by the people of Seabrook working together through SIPOA, the Club and the Town. I believe that my work/life experiences can help that conscious effort to maintain and improve Seabrook while balancing the needs of our unique natural and human environment.
Most of my working career was spent in the public utility sector, where balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders is integral to the job but delivering a consistent service (electricity) is paramount. Not that different from SIPOA’s role on the Island delivering timely, consistent HOA services while balancing the needs of its varied membership.
My background is in chemistry and engineering. I was the Environmental & Chemistry Manager at a nuclear power facility in NC, where I worked for 15 years. I managed a workforce that monitored and maintained the power plant’s systems and managed the environmental impact of plant operations. I was a member of the Site Communications Team and the site Safety Chairman. There were few women working at a nuclear power plant and I was the first in a technical- management position, yet I never found that to be a roadblock that could not be overcome. I also worked for GE and for an Industrial R&D facility.
After my daughter was born, I became a stay-at-home mom and an unintentional house flipper. We moved every 2-3 years – each move providing a new community to understand and a new house to improve. I have hands-on experience with almost every aspect of planning and executing a house makeover. I have worked with very effective and also very challenged HOA’s in different parts of the country. Along the way I learned to play golf, and at two of those clubs I was President of the Ladies Golf Association and a member of the Board. I was also a member of the Board for two home-owner POAs in NC. In my free time I like to play golf, garden, swim, boat, and actively participate in Turtle Patrol.
I think I can offer a different perspective to SIPOA, in particular, if asked, on the ARC, Environmental, GOMC, Planning and/or the Safety Committee. I believe there is more than one way to achieve an objective. I like to work as a team member or individually to improve things- either in process or execution. On principle, I accept the importance of process but I do not accept- “but, we’ve always done it that way” as an excuse for not trying to make something better.
