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I was born, raised, and grew up in Rochester, NY. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. My father was a musician, piano tuner, musical instrument repairman, and music teacher. Although he held a Monday - Friday job as a piano tuner for a large music store adjacent to the Eastman Theater, most of the...
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I was born, raised, and grew up in Rochester, NY. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. My father was a musician, piano tuner, musical instrument repairman, and music teacher. Although he held a Monday - Friday job as a piano tuner for a large music store adjacent to the Eastman Theater, most of the work he performed was as an independent contractor. That kind of work ethic was passed onto me, and has allowed me to pursue my passion in creative and life giving ways. Those endeavors are not even known, embraced, understood or endorsed by the Department of Labor, which takes a "top down" approach based on providing funds based on which sectors of the economy they anticipate growing "in the future" rather than starting with the individual's innate interests, talents and abilities. I know that as a fact because I am a social worker,
and have 25 years of experience helping individuals with a wide array of mental, developmental and physical disabilities, and the homeless. I was employed by the Ventura County Human Services Agency Workforce Investment Program to help veterans and other at-risk populations obtain education and employment, and New Beginnings Counseling Center Safe Parking Program, the largest NPO in our nation assisting people who dwell in their vehicles to obtain housing and employment.
I also have worked in the business sector more than 25 years in various industries from banking to restaurant and lodging to construction and manufacturing. I was employed as the General Manager and Sales Manager at a cosmetics manufacturing plant for almost 10 years, and have operated my own
small businesses, from baking and catering, from advertising to food and cosmetic sales, from executive office assistance to massage. I am a certified massage practitioner with the CAMTC, and formed my own LLC last year to provide business and organization support services such as grant writing, fundraising, bookkeeping, event and volunteer coordination, and community organizing.
I volunteer as the CFO and Treasurer of a 55-year old LA-based NPO, as well as a local NPO assisting low income children and families, an environmental arts organization, and a few others. As we move forward from the pandemic, it is crucial that we develop policies that put people first and at the forefront of community-led development, and unite the public and private sectors of our society and culture to face the challenges of the coming decade. Encouraging and empowering independent contractors, entrepreneurship, and interdependence from the "bottom up" instead of the "trickle down" is the key.
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