Moving Coast to Coast: My new adventure

I recently walked through the streets of Washington, D.C. and reflected on how much I have changed since first moving to the east coast. Five years ago, I sold my home in a cozy neighborhood in Minneapolis, kissed my family good bye and left colleagues and a career I deeply enjoyed.

I moved across the country to take a risk.

It was a professional risk; I started with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families new campaign with an unclear future. It was a personal risk, I was leaving my friends, family and a place I loved to live. And yet despite all of these risks, I took the plunge. This is me to the right in 2009 ==>

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy. I didn’t always handle the move or learning a new city with grace and maturity. But I took the risk.

I recently took another risk. And moved across country again. This time I took a position with the safe beauty company Beautycounter, and moved from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. Finding a new home in Santa Monica, California.

This too is a risk, a professional risk of leaving the non-profit advocacy community – a place where I have spent the last ten years working on policy and market campaigns. It is a personal risk, wondering if I’ll like it here, make friends and enjoy the start-up company gig.

And yet despite all of these risks, I know it will be worth it. Walking along DC’s zig zagged streets I know that despite the risks I took, I matured exponentially. And although it pains me a bit to say this, I grew in ways I wouldn’t have been able to – had I stayed in Minneapolis.

Now as I embark on a new adventure, I too know that living in new places, trying new careers and taking new risks will make me a better person. That’s the hope at least.

My new role with Beautycounter is twofold: I’ll help the company weigh in for strong health protective laws on the safety of toxic chemicals and cosmetics. All too often the business voices in this country are working to block or stop regulations that will protect public health and your family. At Beautycounter we’re aiming to do something different. We’re not afraid to ask for bold positive policy regulations on our very own industry.

Second, I’ll be working with non-profit partners, bloggers, and other allies to build the movement I helped create. So I’m not leaving the world of toxic chemical crusaders, I’m just approaching the work from a different way. You can learn more about Beautycounter and what sets us apart here.

I will forever be grateful to my team and boss at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, who helped me learn the endless limits of progress, all the while learning my own.

Here’s to new adventures!

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