It’s hard to leave a home you love and find that next home you’ll love as much - or more - than the one you left behind. I’ve been there and done that - 15 times - all the while working, traveling, raising a family and then as an empty-nester. It’s never been easy, but it has become easier each time. When I relocated to Boynton Beach several years ago, I created South Florida Life to help you do the same. In 2016, after almost two decades at the Jersey Shore, I left behind a long career in hotel, tourism and consumer marketing to create a real estate lifestyle brand and digital presence. What sets me apart here in South Florida is the rich experience I’ve gained and cultural diversity I’ve experienced, working with people all over the world, from many walks of life, on every continent except Antarctica! I’ve evolved into a coach, counselor, “matchmaker” and all-around problem-solver for folks who want to move forward and thrive through the process of leaving one home behind and finding another.
My career jump-started when my Long Island NY school newspaper editor asked me to pen a Manhattan travel column for our young suburban readers. Thus was born “The Young New Yorker.” Manhattan and the media drew me to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where acting, television, radio and especially film production were my focus. My film production program was taught by a graduate assistant we all called “Marty” - we didn’t know he’d “become” Martin Scorsese, but his work ethic, passion and commitment to his craft made its mark on me. If you’re going to do something, don’t just do it, do it better, do it best.
Just after graduation, uncertain about the future, a professional artist friend invited me to the annual New York ComicCon. He introduced me to a colleague in need of an assistant, who hired me on the spot when I told him about my filmmaking background. 3 days later I was Stan Lee’s assistant at Marvel Comics, utilizing my background of story sequencing, screenplay writing and photography. I soon became an editor, colorist and writer. Like Marty, Stan was a role model who showed me that passion and imagination break through all kinds of boundaries, whether real or imagined. More magazine and book editorships followed, but when I joined a weekly travel industry magazine, assignments took me on the road and introduced the rest of the world to me. I also enrolled in the Hotel & Restaurant Management program at downtown Brooklyn’s NY Tech which took 5 years of night classes to complete, won a “Golden Tasting Spoon” national student-chef contest, freelanced as a food columnist for a downtown Manhattan newspaper and became a lecturer for Weight Watchers! Hard work paid off and Hilton International came calling; I served as Corporate PR Manager for hotels in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. For 10 years I worked with American journalists, planning and escorting them around the world, meeting hotel General Managers, bus drivers, tour guides, Executive Chefs, local craftspeople, arts and culture experts, winemakers, merchants, farmers.
When I moved to the agency side of the business, I continued to work with many more hotels, destinations, celebrity chefs, food brands, consumer product brands, always launching, repositioning and creating media awareness. But after many years of traveling and getting to know people from all over the globe, I came to understand that people everywhere want the same thing – the safety and security of home and family.
So that’s what I decided to do – help people looking for that. I’ve certainly done it enough myself. While building the business, I’ve earned designations from the National Association of Realtors as a Buyer’s Representative, Seller Representative, certified Real Estate Negotiations Expert, and certified ‘At Home with Diversity’ agent. I’ve added concierge services for repairs, updates, staging, clean-outs including redistribution of goods to charities, vehicle transport and more.
