A few months before graduation, I derailed my “perfect” finance career for a position as a project manager on a job site. I started working with about 50 subcontractors twice my age to build a French chateau in the middle of Bel-air, Los Angeles. Somewhere in the middle of my senior year in studying abroad in Barcelona where I was supposed to be learning Spanish, I realized I wouldn’t be happy working in Excel all day, and instead spent my free time looking at architecture magazines in English. I got my first job by running through the neighborhoods by my college campus and bugging a construction worker that was building a mansion nearby. In the end, I did learn“job site Spanish” in the least.

A background in construction gave me fundamentals to be a consultant to the overall building process, which I did for several years for Clients building their dream homes in wine country and the San Francisco Bay area. This was a colorful few years spent with techies who had recently gotten swept up into the Silicon Valley world- they would go from driving a 20 year old Honda living in a 1 bedroom apartment in San Jose, to being worth millions overnight. My job was to put together the team that could build their dream homes for them, because they essentially didn’t know where to start. In 2012, I started building on speculation with partners, and learned the hard-earned lessons of real estate development, finishing by closing out several high-profile estates.

Then, I met my now husband, Stephen. Lovestruck, after one visit to Nashville, I picked up and moved to what I consider the best City in America – with it’s perfect blend of newcomers and old South, entrepreneurship and corporations, artistic scene and industry. This is where I have made my home, and got me thinking about how much easier it was to live in the South. My International travels, and City living balanced the economy and ease of living in Nashville, and developing this efficient lifestyle was the foundation for starting my company – CA South Development.

Marriage is my favorite hobby. I love everything about it, but especially my husband of course! I like proper things and dapper people. Coffee is important to me. And books. And sailing. Reading while anywhere on the water, really. I study philosophical subjects and get up in a plane when I can. When I travel, I don’t go to tourist spots. I like to stay in neighborhoods, settle in a while, and I work remotely. Paris is special, and I am never more productive than when I can work from there with the time difference. I enjoy the 8 hours without a cell phone when the US sleeps – I dream a bit and walk a lot.

I am in interested in helping people live their lives more fully. People spend so much time and attention on their homes, cluttered up environment, chores, etc. I want to give people time back to be creative by out-sourcing menial tasks, and living in efficient spaces. I appreciate the creative nature of our city and want to support art and modern architecture everywhere, including integration into my projects.

I spend a significant amount of my time doing philanthropic work and hold an active role in a local Human Rights charity, supporting the local Nashville chapter called CCHRnashville.org in its efforts to empower parents and protect children from prescription drug abuse and over-drugging. I am passionate about the goals of the Nashville Civic Design Center to create pet-friendly urban landscapes and green spaces that people can thrive in, and currently sit on the board.