You could say that blazing trails is in Annie’s blood. After all, she grew up watching her mother build a thriving business in Vail, Colorado as a single mom while Annie’s dad was adventuring as a hunting guide in Alaska, a jeweler in Texas, or a rancher in New Mexico. Annie’s first business was selling photocopied drawings of a golf cart for $0.25 at the age of 7 Through astute marketing and lean operations, she was able to turn a profit of $1.75! It’s been some time since her focus was on that kind of creative endeavor, moving on to corporate life after earning her BA in Theatre and Creative Writing. And while that isn’t the typical background of a future executive, Annie soon learned that her unique skill was the art of storytelling - not just reciting the words, but actually inspiring her audience to FEEL something. Annie’s CV lists her professional experience at smaller start-ups as well as national and international brands. Throughout her own career development journey, she had the opportunity to work with several coaches and consultants and she saw firsthand how impactful they could be on both her mindset and her performance. And that passion for trailblazing was never far away as Annie continued her education by choosing “Entrepreneurship” as her focus while earning her MBA.

Annie’s last assignment was as a Vice President of Operations at Starbucks, a company she was with for 17 years. With a reputation for developing extraordinary talent and building diverse, high performing teams that achieved record-breaking results year after year, Annie started to wonder if she could combine her passion for storytelling, her innate ability to move an audience, and the skills she honed as an executive into a roadmap that could be taught to other leaders like herself and those she worked with and for. And so the dreams of future possibilities began...

Annie is based in Seattle where she resides with her rescue cat, Charlie. When she’s not busy lighting the way for the leaders she’s working with as she launches Illuminated Path, you can find her exploring a local bookstore; discovering new places to get a great cup of coffee; or finding new ways to surprise herself in her kitchen.