Having risen to a leadership role in real estate operations management within a Fortune200 business, I’d achieved a respectable position, with a great team and great pay. But, in typical fashion for me, I had the itch to keep pushing forward, and in 2021 jumped at the chance to join Ankeny Real Estate Group.
I started my career studying Finance, but as I neared graduation, I found myself in need of “something more”. So, I decided to uproot, transfer schools and become a high school teacher in order to fulfill a sense of service to the wider community. This was the first big career leap I took to push myself forward, but not the last.
Prior to graduating Magna Cum Laude with my teaching degree, I spent 8 months teaching abroad in China and Brazil. While in Brazil, I was nominated to go abroad yet again for a full-paid Masters degree. This opportunity led me away from teaching before I even got started, and I moved to New Zealand for four years where I earned my Masters in Sustainability. I’d go on to consult on public and private large scale renewable energy projects, and later found myself in my first leadership position acting as Director of a sustainability business incubator.
When I left New Zealand to come home to Iowa, I caught on with JLL, a commercial real estate company who also manages all corporate real estate for Principal Financial Group’s worldwide locations, headquartered in Des Moines. There I achieved a leadership position and was responsible for consulting on key business projects, performance management and process improvement, and managing the business intelligence team, among other responsibilities.
However, after 6 years at JLL and lots of successes, it wasn’t quite enough. I wanted the opportunity to lead an entire business where the work mattered, and thus, Ankeny Real Estate Group provided a perfect situation for me and my career.
This is a great team, every day is light and fun, and most importantly, the work we invest into this business goes to help all of our customers with huge, happy moments in their lives.
