How would you describe what you do to someone who knows nothing about Clif Bar or your role?
I like the term “Jackie of all Trades”. I get to dabble in every function of our marketing team to ensure the right conversations between the right people are had. I am in a constant state of learning through my work with all 3 of our Brand Teams, PR, Digital, Sports Marketing, Community, Innovation, E-Commerce and Experience teams. Knowing just enough to be dangerous about what each of them do helps me ensure no one is left out of our plans and I can see the dependencies of the work between them. I am also a Timeline Wizard since I keep everyone on schedule to get us to launch and beyond for our larger campaigns and initiatives.
What do you love most about working at Clif Bar?
My favorite Aspiration here is ‘Be Yourself’. People here really bring their authentic selves to work, and it has helped me to do the same. In my 20+ years of working it is the first place I can be the same person at home that I am at work and feel valued and celebrated for it.
What are your interests and passions outside of work?
I love to run and have found joy in no shortage of running buddies and distance race aficionados here to join me. Volunteering has always been a passion of mine that, until I came here was very hard to work into my schedule. Our company works with a lot of different organizations and one of my favorite benefits is getting to volunteer with any number of them during the workday. Impacting the community in a positive way while learning something new has been an unexpected and rewarding side effect of life at CLIF. I’m also a huge comic book lover and there is a large contingent of folks here that share my passion for that too!
What is one of your most memorable food experiences?
The first time my grandmother let me cook in her kitchen. She is the keeper of many of our family recipes handed down over several generations on yellowed paper in her kitchen drawer and an amazing cook. Due to all of that there aren’t many people she will let cook in her kitchen, especially unsupervised! I knew that I had “made it” when I was visiting her a few years back and she asked me if I wanted to make family dinner as opposed to assisting or watching her do it. I made miso glazed salmon with garlic roasted potatoes and broccoli. She also gave me an envelope with many of those recipes for safekeeping when I flew home.
What has been or will be your greatest adventure?
Participating in one of our In Good Company projects! I went to live with 19 other people (most of whom I’d never met) for a week on the Ohio River with a shared goal of getting over 50,000 pounds of trash out of the water and off its riverbanks. It was a life changing experience that gave me the gift of really understanding our impact on natural places, in addition to long lasting friendships.