While raising my now grown children I invented marketing ideas and new products as a hobby. Among these non-materialized achievements that predated their actual existence, I pitched designer rubber gloves to the head of Dial, vitamin water to the President of Water Joe, portable purse-sized hair spray cans to my Uncle the importer and was plucked from a Science and Industry Museum focus group and hired for a job in a department that tanked before I got my desk.

I’m in no way laying claim to any of the fore mentioned inventions but would like to fast forward to what I actually did invent. There was the Elevator Party in the John Hancock Center during evening rush hour to debut my dog of a book, Parties with Panache, the creation of “The World’s Largest Thong” to debut Evlove Intimates because nothing says custom lingerie like a 20-foot black lace thong, the PR programs “Fit Eye For the Fat Guy” & “Your Bottom & Your Bottom Line” for Motiv8 Fitness and let’s not forget sending my vintage patent-leather size 5.5 stiletto shoe to Mattel’s Barbie division president because I wanted to be on their Dream Big in Pink Heals team. (And yes, I did get the shoe back after it landed on his desk and traveled to their PR department.)

With a trajectory like that it’s no surprise that we named our community Big Ooga.

Community Involvement

I have served as a past PR Chair for Chicago’s Taste of the Nation, Co-chair of marketing and steering committee member for the Chicago ATHENA International Awards, Head Writer for the Chicago Film Critics Award Shows, two terms as President of the Beehive Investment Club and am currently serving on the SBAC communications committee and unemployment benefits committee.

A proud mother of two daughters, both kids overshot my expectations. My eldest daughter is a medical doctor and fitness competitor. My youngest daughter is on a Ph.D. track in international criminology with a focus on Mandarin and head of the Manhattan Greyhound Meet-up.