I learn how to learn by making a life-long commitment to self-improvement. As a product of the private school system in Philadelphia, restlessness and boredom often filled my youth. During adolescence an internal mechanism ignited inside and motivated me to working, exercising and dedicating myself to self-improvement. I was the first person in my family to attend college and then continued to challenge myself and completed the Ph.D. program. After graduate school I continued to read material on a wide range of topics and developed a keen sense of the dynamics driving today's hyper-connected and ever changing global marketplace.

I learned about business through experience. For several years I worked at a jewelry and gift shop during high school and learned valuable lessons in management, sales, marketing, inventory control and customer service. In college I relied on those lessons and applied them to working a variety of jobs that culminated with the launch of my professional career into teaching. Following graduate school I deliberately and intentionally left my teaching career and launched a corporate career that spanned marketing research, sales, marketing, small business development and product development.

I learned about teaching by getting comfortable being uncomfortable. In graduate school I had a tremendous fear of speaking in front of people. Realizing that public speaking with the number one fear for most people, I dedicated myself to getting comfortable while uncomfortable in front of strangers. Teaching on both the K-12 and secondary levels provided me with numerous opportunities to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Continuous self-assessment, perseverance and a positive attitude gave me the confidence required to work through the uncomfortableness of many situations.

I learned that my personal growth drives my professional development. Throughout my career, either as a teacher, a marketing professional or a small business owner, I have addressed professional issues by increasing my level of self-awareness. Employing this approach has allowed me to develop a bias towards action and think more effectively about new ways to achieve and sustain continuous professional development. By continuously assessing my traits and habits I uncovered a desire to launch MEAPA in order to help others realize that their professional development is directly linked to their personal growth.