General Manager of East to West RV and RVWA Board Member
Growing up my dream was to be a fashion designer, but before I could go to fashion design school my mother told me I needed to get a business degree first. Today, I hate to say it, but “mother knows best.” Combining both business and fashion, I have had an interesting career path. I graduated with my second bachelor’s degree in 2006 when the economy tanked in Chicago. The only job that would hire me was a temp agency. My first job as temp, I got immediately hired on as a receptionist for a production house. From there I worked my way out of the front desk to being a Producer/Project Manager. While I enjoyed this job, I really wanted to get into fashion so found a job on Craigslist to work at the Chicago Bears Stadium. As another temporary hire, I worked my way up to become the Stadium Retail Buyer.
This was an awesome job and I loved working with all the high profile people, but the 90-hour work weeks were exhausting so I took a job as North American Sales Manager at French Studio Imports. After a few years of managing over 200 wholesale accounts across the US and Canada, I ended up buying the company. This opportunity gave me the experience of running all aspects of a business and allowed me to create new procedures and strategies. While I certainly enjoyed the import/distribution business I owned as well as working with a variety of people from all over the world, I longed to create my own brands and products.
In 2018, I founded EAST TO WEST RV, an independent RV manufacturing company. Growing up in the industry, I found that being in RV manufacturing was the best way to utilize and combine every single one of my past work experiences. Starting up in the industry was difficult, but as my team grew it got easier each day. After we passed the startup phase with my first brand Della Terra, we had an opportunity to sell our business to Forest River, Inc. Today, I am now a part of a company that my dad founded and work with many people I think of as family. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Forest River family as it has provided many additional opportunities for professional growth. Given that the RV industry has been so heavily male dominated, I joined RVWA to help make a difference and be a positive resource to other people in the industry.