My Journey
I am one of six children. My father died at age 40. My family was poor. Or, as my mother preferred to say, “broke.” We had no money, and my mother had never worked outside the home.
We went to live with my grandfather in Memphis. The seven of us slept in one bedroom, and two of my brothers slept on the floor. But we had a roof over our heads.
I’ve had asthma since age 6. I almost died at 15 from an uncontrollable episode. I know why affordable healthcare is important. Even today, I take expensive drugs for my asthma.
I studied Business and Marketing at Memphis State (now University of Memphis). My first job was with an insurance company.
I married, had two children, and unexpectedly became a single mother at 27. With little money, I had a ‘Scarlett O’Hara – “Gone with the Wind” ’ moment one evening and said to myself, “I will never be this poor again.” Back to work. I changed jobs every two years to get a job that paid more so we wouldn’t have to continue to live ‘paycheck to paycheck.’
My entire career has been in the insurance industry. I sold Employer-sponsored Group Health insurance and later helped start the first Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in TN. Basically, I worked myself “up from the bottom to the top” of the health insurance/HMO industry, serving as a senior V.P. for several companies. I later became a consultant in the same industry.
Please listen to what Giselle has to say...
When I retired, I sought roles with non-profit charitable organizations in a quest to ‘give back.’ I became the leader of a non-profit serving seniors in Alexandria, VA (“Meals on Wheels” delivery, transportation services for the elderly/disabled, job placement, and more). I cleaned up the financials, improved revenue, trained staff, and created better awareness of its services.
After retiring from the non-profit, I tutored at-risk 1st and 2nd elementary students in reading as a volunteer. I have done so for 11 years, including 2 years at Riverside Elementary (until Covid hit…and later hit me). I became a Meals on Wheels volunteer delivering food for 7 years.
I became Treasurer of the BOD of my Homeowners Association (HOA), discovered theft by BOD members, and was able to recover $10,500. I pushed for a reform of Rules and Regulations to loosen the too-tight restrictions on homeowners. I uncovered that “personal purchases” by BOD members had been paid out of the HOA monies, demanded, and obtained return of monies. I corrected financial allocations of expenses and ensured the timely AND ACCURATE release of financials each month. I made sure Bank statements were also included to verify that reserve money was indeed IN the bank account. I signed off on each invoice so that “personal expenses” could no longer be fraudulently paid out of HOA accounts.
I moved to Spring Hill, TN, in 2018. And I want to serve the people in my community here as I did elsewhere.
Thanks for reading!
This is my neighbor…