ABOUT ME

I am originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but have lived in many cities since growing up there. After attending college in Wisconsin, I lived in Chicago for five years and then Los Angeles for four years where I completed my master's degree in education. I have spent the last 8 years living in Spain and have recently moved to Dublin, Ireland. In Spain I was awarded a grant from the government of Spain to teach various subjects in English. Later on I co-founded a business VIVA Innovation Academy and did consulting for H2020 projects. I have also co-founded Startup Hour Madrid. Startup Hour is an organization that offers bespoke entrepreneurial social events and unique experiences with the aim of connecting and supporting the startup communities both on a local and global level. We bring together entrepreneurs, startups, techies, community influencers, creatives, investors and anyone curious about starting their own business to meet like-minded people, enjoy great company and create new synergies for business.

Join my events: www.meetup.com/startuphourmadrid

PHILOSOPHY

To make a positive impact in society, whether that means educating yourself and sharing your knowledge with others, being a positive influence and making people smile, being good to your family and friends and the strangers that cross your path. To live life with no fear, be impulsive, adventurous, do what you want and don't think twice about it. Follow your instincts! Learn from hardships and your mistakes, be reflective. Don't beat yourself up when things are rough...realize that this time will pass and that things happen for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. We all learn from failure.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am interested in meeting people from all over the world. I currently cannot host couchsurfers because I share an apartment and my roommate doesn't want to participate in hosting guests, but am interested in showing people around and/or meeting new people.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have had mostly positive experiences on couchsurfing. I have enjoyed meeting people from all around the world and sharing life stories.

Interests

I am a very active person. I love hiking, yoga, fitness and dance classes. I love the outdoors, camping, hiking, skiing, etc... I love music of all kinds including electronic, Latin, indie, ROCK, reggae, R&B, pop and electro indie stuff as well. I love learning about new bands or new music. I love to learn, so I read often and find myself signing up for various classes even when I'm not enrolled in school. Above all, I love to travel and meet new people. Lastly, my family and friends mean the world to me. I could be anywhere with them and have the best time. Recently converted to vegetarianism and I'm interested in learning new recipes and trying vegan dishes as well.

• culture
• photography
• music festivals
• dancing
• dining
• wine
• fitness
• yoga
• running
• traveling
• music
• live music
• electronic music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• business
• cultural immersion
• travel
• vegetarianism
• zero waste
• holistic living

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm currently reading Glass Castles. Some recent books I have read are "Zero to One", "Gone Girl", "Amerikanah" and "Shantaram"- the latter of which was one of my favorite books. Another fav is "When Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (hilarious). Another fav is "The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao"...don't have too much time for movies but I enjoy foreign/independent films. I also love a good romantic comedy, comedy or drama. Love seeing live music and attending music festivals, love all types of music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam with sea lions in the Galapagos, hitchhiked from Colorado to S. California, Rafted the Colorado River, slept under the stars, and hiked out of the Grand Canyon all in one trip, walked for 5 consecutive days on the Camino de Santiago with my mom (116 km), worked in Ibiza one summer, lived in Puerto Rico for a few months and swam in the bioluminescent bays, led by a drunk shaman in the Ecuadorian rain forest, witnessed and survived a volcano eruption and military coup, went Crystal mining in Arkansas, saw the last Grateful Dead show ever in 1996, and most recently saw the northern lights in Norway. More to come!

Teach, Learn, Share

Open-minded, intelligent and light-hearted at the same time, friendly, inspirational, funny, successful, business owners, philanthropists, interested in others, sincere, honest, positive people. I am open to learning anything new.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My knowledge of my experience living in other countries, as well as starting up two businesses abroad. I love to discuss culture and experiences and topics such as education, feminism, societal studies, cultures, a bit of politics. I also just like to "talk shit" and laugh about silly stuff.

I can also give a lot of advice regarding starting a business and love to talk sustainability and travel. I speak both Spanish and English and am very open minded and can share good conversation, good food/wine and many laughs.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Ireland, Spain, United States

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