Family: Two children, Franco, 13; and Nina, 9.

Work: I wear a few different hats. I’m a single mom and I have situations that are very flexible, and that allow me to be with my kids while also providing for them. I work at Trinity Episcopal Church, as music director, which is my most passionate work. My previous career, before motherhood, I was an opera singer. I have a background in church music and after going to conservatory and launching my musical career, I came full circle, back to church. I’ve done music in various churches along the way and have landed at Trinity, which really fits me. We do a mix of traditional and contemporary music, and Trinity is such an inclusive and accepting place. I feel at home there, my children feel at home there. We’ve really found a home here.

I am also a real estate agent, so that keeps me very busy. I do voiceover work — I’ve narrated many, many audiobooks, and podcast drama series, some commercials, and some animation.

I’m also directing the musical at Reed School, and I do a lot of freelance music work. Somehow it all comes together and they all work in harmony.

Are you a member of any organizations, clubs, and/or communities of faith? I‘m part of the Parent Teacher League at Immanuel Lutheran School, where my children attend. I’ve done other service projects, such as a toiletry drive for the Women’s Shelter in Danbury, which was in partnership with Trinity; and a diaper drive for The Action Agency in Danbury. I like to be involved in the community.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love to cook. My favorite thing to cook is really any recipe by Ina Garten. I have almost all of her cookbooks, and I think her recipes are all fabulous and foolproof. I recently read Ina’s memoir and loved learning about her journey from working as a nuclear budget analyst in The White House to becoming one of the most successful women in the food world today. All of our Easter dinner recipes this year were from her Make it Ahead cookbook!

What is your favorite thing to eat? French food. It’s the most fun for me to make. It can be complicated but you can also get so creative with it. I do make a pretty good beef Wellington.

Favorite movies? My daughter and I are big fans of the Wicked movies. I also love the old movies with Fred Astaire, and Bing Crosby. Classics. At Christmas time I’ll be watching Holiday Inn or White Christmas. I love those movies, especially with Fred Astaire dancing. You just don’t see that any more, that level of performer.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your life? I grew up in church music. My father was a pastor, and my mom was a music minister, and I was leading church music under my mom’s guidance as a vocalist and pianist by the time I was a teenager.

My life and career took me the classical music route of a conservatory education and the opera stage, but when my son Franco was born, I realized my heart just wasn’t in that career choice any longer. My dear friend Rick Tripodi was a renowned organist, and he brought me back into church music, not only as a singer but as a pianist. Rick practically pushed me kicking and screaming into churches who needed substitute pianists and organists, even though I doubted my abilities. He coached me as an organist and put me in front of choirs to conduct. He believed in me until I too believed that I had what it took to be a legitimate music director.

Today, I am so fulfilled as a music director at Trinity, for the Reed School spring musicals, and beyond, and I can’t imagine what my life’s trajectory would have been without the loving discomfort of that one person who believed in me enough to kick me out of my comfort zone.

What is your proudest accomplishment? My proudest accomplishment is raising my children to be empathetic, compassionate people in spite of the fact that they don’t have what would be considered a traditional upbringing. It’s the three of us, and I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been able to prioritize them. They’re very self-aware, and they’re aware of the community around them. They’re compassionate towards all people. I’ve never heard them say anything that wasn’t inclusive or accepting of people. That makes me really, really proud.

Do you have any unusual or surprising talents? I can do voices! As a voiceover artist, I voiced over 1,000 episodes of a popular podcast-style drama. I played every single character, easily over 100 characters in that series. I was the voice of male and female adults, seniors, and children; people with accents from France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Midwestern and Southern US, and the UK. I can also fake out phone scammers by pretending to be a bot! My kids think this is my most valuable talent, actually.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? Being involved at Trinity, and in the schools now, I see so many differing opinions and so many different styles of parenting, and different religious beliefs. I feel like Newtown has a vibe of “It’s all good. We’re all welcome here.” That may be because of how Trinity welcomes everyone, but I’ve always felt like Newtown is a place of welcome and warmth. Of course, not everybody agrees on everything, but for the most part my experience has always been that people like to have intelligent conversations about things, and it’s okay to disagree. At the end of the day we welcome each other and we’re compassionate.

Do you have a personal credo? I strive to lead with equal parts expertise, empathy, and humor. At the end of the day, I just want to be someone who shows up for people in a way that makes them feel cared for and empowered.