2020 Vision

To say 2020 has forced us all to push harder and dig deeper than ever before would be an understatement. I recognize that it’s been a difficult year and everyone’s struggle has varied; yet we all are coming together with a deeper understanding for what’s important in life.

A Clear Perspective

Fortunately for me, very early on in the pandemic things were put into perspective and I was able to pivot the ways I work so that I could add the tasks of full-time mom to the job of entrepreneur to a very new business. I wrote about it in this article. In 2019 I single handedly formulated upwards of 40 partnerships in my company’s first operating year. Working to reconnect with my little one and pushing harder than ever before with Choice MD led me to inadvertently push my family into second place.

The New Normal

Choice MD has been my dream. It is a vision I had kept to myself for 10 years before I was finally able to introduce it to the community to make a difference. I was not going to just sit back and let my company fail because I was in the vulnerable population and expected to stay home and mask up during the pandemic. On the contrary, I pivoted and took the initiative to reach out to everyone I could think of. I created Choice MD with the passion to help people going through health problems and the entire city was facing a challenge like never before. Choice MD is a tool created to guide people through any health-related issues, so I emailed and cold called countless news channels, radio stations, and government officials. I adapted Choice MD to show how quickly we could support the current landscape by adding information on testing sites and food distribution events for those in need to our website, both getting a fair number of visits proving how important and vital my resource was to the community. Many wonderful things came from that push including partnerships with the Children’s Trust, The Women’s Fund, Camillus House, and more. I landed interviews with important doctors in our community to expand on all the ways we could add value to the local medical community and first responders working tirelessly during this health crisis, among many other things.  

Giving Back

When I reached out to the Miami-Dade Beacon Council I was asked to join the Life Sciences and Health Committee and I proudly accepted as I don’t often pass up an opportunity to volunteer when asked. I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting to help people and organizations succeed, it truly makes me happy.

As chair to the City of Coral Gables Advisory Board on Disability Affairs, I listened in on countless meetings guiding our amazing board to mitigate as many issues as possible within our wonderful city. My experiences in this position during a pandemic forever changed my own perspectives on disability and my understanding that we have a long way to go in creating a more inclusive world for the disabled population. My hope is that we can take these lessons and continue to head in the right direction, with the City of Coral Gables as a starting point.

I’ll leave you with one last thought. Passion is what drives us to succeed. My experiences with my own health have fueled my passion to help others in need. The COVID-19 pandemic was just one more obstacle I had to overcome to prove to everyone that I am passionate about helping those experiencing health issues.