A few weeks after I started working with Charlotte Center City Partners, our CEO Michael stopped me on the street and gave me this piece of advice: “I want you to develop your own voice. Don’t just expand on what we’ve done before or try to assimilate to what exists here. Your perspective is unique and valuable.” Not only did his words stick with me and continue to encourage me during my time with CCCP, they also represent my Charlotte chapter.

When my husband and I moved to Charlotte in 2009, I had been through a layoff and was struggling to survive – much less grow and thrive – as a communications consultant and freelance writer. I had a few years of experience, but I was hungry for more. I wanted to stretch myself, continue learning and improving, get out of my comfort zone and find a path that really fit me – not just a path that I was supposed to want.

Over the next six years, I was able to do all of those things and much more. I ate breakfast and met smart people at Social Media Charlotte (shout out to my #SMCLT folks!), joined a strong and passionate team at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, dove into a life-changing master’s degree program with the Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte, and finally, I found my voice after joining CCCP as Director of Communications.

A bunch of people have helped me along the way. What I’ve taken away from my experience so far is how easy and important it is for me to help others, however I can, as they try to find their voice as well. We all need to help each other. We’re all in this together.

That being said, I’m excited to announce that I am joining a team at a unique company that is doing exactly that.

After my husband found an amazing job (and church family) in Greenville, S.C. a few months ago, I knew I would eventually want to join him there full-time. I thought it would be difficult to find a job that fit me, so I stayed with CCCP for as long as possible. Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong about finding the right place for me.

I’m joining The Iron Yard as Communications Director in their Greenville headquarters. I’m going to apply my passion for all things communications, writing, and content strategy to a company whose mission is all about helping people – in this case, helping people gain skills, confidence and connections as they pursue careers in tech, or launch startups, or develop new ideas. It’s a pretty cool place – read more about it here. And they were nice enough to write about me joining the team, too.

The Iron Yard is going to open up a whole new world for me. I have tons to learn but I couldn’t be more ready to jump in with both feet. For those who I’ve worked with in the past, thank you. I hope our paths will cross again. Thanks for walking along with me on this lifelong journey.