My family moved to Reno in the early 70’s and we built our home in Southwest Reno where my mother still resides. I attended school here in Reno until high school. I then attended Santa Catalina School for girls in Monterey and graduated in 1983. Having spent summers interning in Washington, D.C, I ended up getting my undergraduate degree in International Relations at USC in 1987. I worked my senior year for Drexel Burnham Lambert in Beverly Hills and was recruited to their 2-year training program after graduation, which took place in NYC. The program included extensive graduate work at the NY Institute of Finance. After Drexel imploded, I started a Broker/Dealer firm in the 90’s and grew it to 35 employees with offices in NY and LA. I served on the board of the NASD, National Association of Securities Dealers, for three years in our district of Los Angeles. Our clients were high net worth individuals and small institutions. Among a myriad of financial transactions, I raised capital for real estate development transactions and a substantial size REIT. I fell in love with the real estate side of the business and sold my investment firm in 2000 to pursue a career in real estate.