Occupation: I’m a direct sales jewelry representative for Silpada Designs. I’ve been with them for eight years, successfully selling the jewelry and building a team of wonderful women. Silpada is all sterling silver jewelry, and each piece is handcrafted by artisans all over the world. They’ve empowered women everywhere to give a livelihood to their families. It’s only direct sales, so I do home parties and I do a great number of fundraisers. I’m also the chapter administrator for a club called F.W. Sim, the Fairfield/Westchester chapter for the Society of Information Management.

Family: My husband is Scott, and he works for IBM. Our son Spencer is a senior at Newtown High School, and our daughter Maddie is a sophomore there.

Pets: We have Miss Charlotte, our pug. She’s quite a character and quite a fashion plate. She has a lot of clothes, even her own bathing suit. She has little hats for special occasions, and costumes for Halloween. She’s on Facebook a lot.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We moved up to Sandy Hook from Bridgeport 15 years ago this coming July.

What do you like to do in your free time? I primarily do Pinterest, which I discovered last year. It’s like getting 100 magazines delivered to your doorstep each morning. I like to cook, and right now I’m out in the garden getting things ready for spring. I take care of all the flowerbeds, and Scott does the vegetable garden. I do like to read.

What are you currently reading? I just read Heaven Is For Real, and I’m reading The Hunger Games right now.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? My favorite place I’ve ever been to, so far, is Austria. When you go into the Alps region, the mountains just shoot out of the ground in front of you. You have to see it to believe it. It’s so clean, too. The people take so much pride in their property, and the food is fabulous. The lakes in Austria are so blue, it’s unbelievable.

What is the best thing about Newtown? I think one of the best things I’ve found here is Trinity Episcopal Church. I’ve never seen a more loving and caring community of people. It feels like a second home. They have a spectacular choir, and they focus heavily on the youth of the church, to help them through those teenage years. Pastor Katy is very special and a wonderful person.

Who has been the greatest influence on your life? I would say my mom. She has always told me to do what I love, and encouraged me in everything I’ve wanted to do. She’s always been a businesswoman. I admire her work ethic and have aspired to be like her. She has a very strong faith and she passed that on to me. Hopefully, the wisdom she gave to me will pass through me to my own children.

Do you have a personal philosophy? I tell my children, treat people the way you want to be treated. Think about what you’re going to say before you do. Thoughts are like a tube of toothpaste: once you squeeze them out, it’s hard to take them back. Think carefully before you speak.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Sweets. I love jelly doughnuts. There’s a place in Maine called Cogdon’s Doughnuts. I remember going there as a child and getting jelly doughnuts. They are the most perfect combination of granulated sugar on the outside, a crispy fried outer dough, and the jelly on the inside. They are still there, and the jelly doughnuts are still perfect.