Ann's Personal (and Professional)
ReInvention Bio

Who Am I … to suggest You ReInvent?

Well, let me fill you in on the many times I’ve Reinvented myself… so you know I have some credibility.

I don’t want to bore you with too much info… but I want to share a few significant points here.

Milestones / Times I ReInvented

1970 – I was 24 and got accepted to teach for the Department of Defense Overseas Teaching Program. I was shipped to Camp Zama, Japan and stayed there for 2 years. First, I taught 2nd grade on the Army base and then in the second year, I taught special education. In my second year of living there, I left the safety of the base and moved off-base (onto the economy, as they called it) and rented a tiny little Japanese house. It was a teeny 1-bedroom, living room (with kitchen inside of it) and bathroom. It had no insulation and was freezing. I ran space heaters and bundled up in my futon to sleep.

While there, I traveled all over the Orient during school breaks. What an adventure!!!

1972 – When I left Japan, I didn’t want to move back to Miami, FL where I grew up, and I wanted to get a graduate degree … so I applied and was accepted to school in Chicago at the Jane Addams School of Social Work (probably the best school in the nation.) I moved to Chicago (knowing only my sister, who immediately moved away … no not because of me). I was back in the States, knew no one and started over. By year two, I was President of my graduating class. It was great.

1974-76 – Worked as a counselor in an alcoholism treatment center … Very new sort of work!

1976 – Took a full-time professorship at a small IL University. That took teaching to a whole new level….. college! Didn’t know I could do that.

1976 – I got married. Not really a basic reinvention … but over the years we realize how much we reinvent in relationship.

1978 – Had a kid … Ditto! (Of course, this is the BEST thing I’ve ever done!)

1985 – We moved to Austin, TX … just to get out of cold Chicago. I took a job running a Drug/Alcohol facility … I had never been an administrator before.

1987 – Quit my job and found myself working for myself. Couldn’t find a job (that paid anything decent.) Opened up my doors in private practice and started rounding up clients. I also started my own small Employee Assistance Program. I’d never worked for myself before … had no clue how to be an entrepreneur. To this day, I say … I’m an “accidental” entrepreneur. And, to this day, I’ve remained my own boss …. Never worked for anyone else since.

1996 – Enrolled in Coach University to learning coaching skills and joined the National Speaker’s Assn. Both – new professions, which I started “on the side” to my counseling practice.

2000 – Quit my therapy practice … just closed the doors (well, after I referred all my clients elsewhere.) Started speaking and coaching full-time.

2002 – Separated from my husband of 25 years to go on my own. (Divorce was final in Jan. 2003) OMG …. Wondered if I’d lost my mind. It was right after Sept. 11th, the economy was rough … and I was trying to make it as a speaker/coach. I must have been nuts.

2004 – Wrote my first book, Laughing Matters: The Value of Humor in the Workplace. Definitely not a best-seller, but none-the-less, a credibility piece for my speaking and my work.

2006 – Sold everything I owned and left Austin, TX (where I’d been for 20 years). Moved to NYC … just because … to have another new adventure. I was 60 years old, starting over in the Big Apple. I only knew a handful of people and had no clients here. What was I thinking?

2009 – Completed and finished my next book. Sixty, Sexy, Sassy and Free: A Real Woman’s Story of ReInvention.

2009 – ReInventing my speaking topic to be ALL about ReInvention … of companies, of individuals, etc. Hanging out there in the wind … getting known again in a new way.

2009 – Diagnosed with Breast cancer in August. By the end of the year, I had undergone two surgeries, 4 chemotherapy treatments and lost my hair (major reinvention -- being bald.)

2010 – In January, completed my "how to" reinvention workbook entitled:  When You Want Things to be Different: 7 1/2 Steps to Transcend the Status Quo

2010 – Radiation treatments for breast cancer and the continuation of that reinvention … with a soon to be launched non-profit for helping people reinvent after circumstance. (probably called:  Thriving After…!)

So, now you have it …When you work with someone to ReInvent yourself … choose someone who has been there and back.

Thanks for reading!!!

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My personal mission and commitment

I am committed to enhancing the well-being of individuals, such that it positively impacts their relationships with self, family, work, and spirit. And, I am committed to transforming the world of work, one company at a time… to create "Cultures that Work"!

Remember, every day is FRYday… casual, productive, and FUN!