What BBYO chapter and region did you belong to?
I belonged to Wise BBG, Lonestar Region.
What was your involvement in BBYO as a teen, and how did those experiences shape you as an adult?
I held various roles—Mazkirah, S’ganit, Shlicha—and attended many events including ILTC and International Convention. It allowed me to not only grow my leadership roles but also socialize within the Jewish community and grow my confidence as an individual and young female professional. Those were invaluable skills and experiences to learn at a young age—I may not have even realized at the time how formative they were.
What are some of the top learnings you took away from your time in BBYO that you still use today?
The importance of leadership and the power in community. Through BBYO, I got to explore my desire to be a leader in a safe environment before college, and join an incredible community that gave me satisfaction and a sense of belonging outside of my high school world. These elements would later prove to be the two cornerstones of my adult life that I got to build at a young age, priming me for college experiences that led to where I am today.
What were some of the highlights of your time in BBYO? What are some of your favorite memories?
My highlights were the lifelong friendships I made and the iconic stories, whether at a convention or chapter event. Learning how to drive in the galleria parking lot with my chapter, eating "spooey" with my soon-to-be best friend at CLTC, and ordering room service to our hotel rooms at IC. I also think running for leadership positions as a teen gave me great experience at honing in on what I loved, and developed my passion for building community.
What advice would you give your teenage self – what do you want to tell teens today?
I would tell myself to ignore the voice inside your head saying you aren’t capable, because you are so much more capable than you would ever believe. You can impact and inspire others to do the things you never thought possible. You can’t predict anything that’s going to happen, so release the reins on the plan a bit, and just trust you’ll get there. Keep exploring your many passions and trusting the process.
What are you proud of that you are currently working on?
I am most proud of the brand we're building at GoNanas, a vegan, gluten free, and allergen-friendly banana bread company that I launched with my best friend from college. We launched two iconic banana bread ice cream flavors nationwide with Salt & Straw ice cream and have launched over 10 co-branded banana bread mix flavors with influencers in the space. We launched two protein mix flavors, a remake of the nostalgic mini blueberry muffins we all grew up eating, and our first-ever cookie mix. We also have, for the first time ever, two seasonal menus launching for the holidays and in Q1. I'm excited by the quality of our products, level of innovation, impact of our collaborations, and the resonance of our messages we're putting out there—of building the brand I've always dreamed of creating. And of course, we have so much fun doing it and growing our community along the way!