acknowledgements

I didn’t get to where I am on my own. Many people have played a significant role in allowing me to make a difference in other people’s lives, and many people have played a key role in helping me make this book a success. I have numerous talented and generous people to thank.

First, dear reader, thank you for investing your time with me. I know there are many other things you could be doing with your time, so I never take for granted your decision to purchase and read my book. This book was written for you. It was written to help you get from where you are to where you want to go. Thank you for believing in me and allowing me to guide you toward your desired destination.

I would also like to thank all the job seekers who trusted me through the years. You have been my inspiration and have made my job so rewarding. You followed the process, took action, and ultimately got to where you wanted to go. Thank you for staying true to yourselves and making the world a better place through your unique
talents and passions. You are making a difference every day.

I am forever grateful to my immediate family for supporting me through the book-writing process. I appreciate your willingness to allow me to allocate so much time to help serve others and express my passion and creativity. At times, it seemed like this book was a 24/7 endeavor. Often, my best work was completed during vacations and on trips when I had time to think and reflect on what would help job seekers the most. Caryn, Emi, and Will: Thank you for giving me the time, flexibility, support, and guidance throughout the process. You mean the world to me!

A very special thank you to my daughter, Emi, for reading the manuscript numerous times and offering constructive feedback. You provided a different perspective and had me view the manuscript in a new light, making the book so much more relevant for all readers. Thank you for your excellent feedback.

Thank you to my siblings, relatives, and friends who have provided me with support and help along the way. In one way or another, you are an important part of this book.

A huge thank you goes to a prior colleague and close friend, bj Danetra, for providing me with both encouragement and direction. You were there every time I came to a fork in the road and needed feedback or input. Your advice always got me back on track. Thank you for all your support and guidance.

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all the talented people who gave me detailed and constructive feedback during the editing and design phases. A heartfelt thank you to Mara Eller for helping me bring the book across the finish line. You are an extraordinary editor, and this book is much better because of your terrific work. I appreciate all your creativity, patience, expertise, and enthusiasm. Thank you for caring so much about me and my manuscript. You made the editing process a slam dunk, and you were a joy to work with throughout the entire process.

I am very thankful I was able to work with Brian Baker during both the editing and publishing stages. Brian always went the extra mile to help me through the process. Thank you for answering all my questions and sharing your expertise. You were incredible to work with, and I appreciate all your help.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Jordan Faires, Sharon Goldinger, Tia Kordell, Kelly Lydick, Claire Madden, and Heather Pendley for their adept feedback and edits. Your suggestions were right on target, and they made the book much better. Thank you for sharing your time and perspective with me.

I was very fortunate to have one of my editors refer me to George Stevens for the book’s design. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to collaborate with on the interior look. Thank you, George. You did a fantastic job. You took the time to understand me, my brand, and my clients’ needs, and you added your creativity to bring the manuscript to life. Thank you for your calm demeanor, excellent communication, and expert design skills. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you.

I was also fortunate to find a talented book cover designer. A huge thank you goes out to Miladinka Milic for creating a stunning cover and turning my vision into reality. You were always so accessible and responsive. Thank you for your help and patience.

I am also very grateful I had a group of generous people I could immediately turn to for information, referrals, examples, ideas, stories, testimonials, illustrations, general feedback, and support. A big thank you goes out to Dr. David Abramis, Ian Adam, Alisan Amrhein, Dr. Satie Airamé, Gina Auriemma, Lindsay Bass, Fahmida Bangert, Becca Barnett, Owen Barrett, Andy Bilich, Kristi Birney, Dr. Jonah Busch, Lisa Campbell, Marc Campopiano, Hazel Clegg, Tim Cohen, Yasmin Cronin, Joy Culley, Ariel Curry, Lacrissa Davis, Jaime Dietenhofer, Jennifer DuBuisson, Doug Ellis, Chris Fletcher, Dr. Elissa Foster, Emma Friedl, Kim Fugate, Dr. Steve Gaines, Casey Garrett, Onella Gayraud, Michelle Graff, Ann Haldeman, Jo Haldeman, Susan Haldeman, Ann Hayden, Bryan Henson, Caroline Holmes, Monica Illes, Dana Jennings, Eleanor Johnstone, Stacy Katz, Marilyn Keys, Kellen Klein, Kate Kokosinski, Matt Koller, Anjana Krishnan, Julia Coke Lampe, Josh Levine, Briny Litchfield, Dr. Don Lubach, Aliana Lungo-Shapiro, Brooke Malik, Jill Matteson, Ami Mariscal, Louisa McGuirk, Joaquin Meckler-Pacheco, Anne Middleton, Michael Millstein, Chris Minton, Lillian Mirviss, Lena Moffitt, Kavitha Nambiar, Derek Nguyen, John Onderdonk, Matt Panopio, Dr. Amy Parker, Brie Parker, Caryn Parker, Chris Parker, Cody Parker, Joe Parker, Lori Parker, Will Parker, Jason Peery, Beth Pitton-August, Ruben Sanchez Ramirez, Dr. Jill Richardson, Kristen Robinson, Tom Rogowski, Laura Lea Rubino, Bess Ruff, Jessica Sager, Miya Scheble, Dr. Phil Selinsky, Jota Shohtoku, Sabrina Skelly, Erica Slowik, Krista Rolfzen Soukup, Caitlin Swalec, Dawnielle Tellez, Brian Tracy, Allison Turner, Dr. Lotus Vermeer, Harry Vickers, Elise Wall, and Patti Winans. You were all so helpful and responsive. Thank you for all your assistance and support.

The path I have taken to get to where I am is unique. My path started in the alfalfa fields and packing sheds in Palisade, Colorado, worked its way through the retail industry and into the retail buying offices in downtown Los Angeles, meandered through a variety of organizational development consulting engagements, made a turn
into human resources, and then moved on to career development. Many people helped me along the way, and each job got me one step closer to what I was meant to be and do. And, most importantly, each experience has played a key role in allowing me to bring something unique to my clients that no one else can bring.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
—PAULO COELHO

Thank you to all the people who helped me make Slam Dunk Job Search possible:

the website

the book

A number of talented people helped me bring this website to life.

Design/Hosting
A huge thank you goes out to the team at Tonic for all their help and great designs. You made this website possible, and you were always there to answer my questions. Thank you. I would also like to thank the website hosting team at Showit for all their help and great hosting services. You were always available to answer my questions, and you will continue to be a great resource for all my website needs. Thank you.
 
Website Function
A big thank you goes out to Maya Palmer at Maya Palmer Designs, Inc. for her help in getting everything up and running and functioning the right way. You were a joy to work with, and I appreciate your knowledge, patience, communication, and design expertise. Thank you for everything.

Art
I would like to thank Nathan Vonk and the entire team at Sullivan Goss (Susan Bush and Jeremy Tessmer) for allowing me to use the Sullivan Goss (An American Gallery) setting and artwork for a number of the photographs. It was very nice of you to open the gallery for me and allow my vision come to life. I really appreciate you and all your help.

I would also like to acknowledge the artists and artwork that appear on this website, including Phoebe Brunner (landing page artwork: Heartbeat, Viva, Perception Becomes Joy), Robert Frame (Sunflowers in Yellow Room), Grace Libby Vollmer (Portrait of a Black Women), and Lyla Marchall Harcoff (Calla Rhythms). Thank you to the Sullivan Goss team for allowing me to use these images.
 
Photographs
First, I would like to thank Doug Ellis from Doug Ellis Photography for taking the images of me for the website and book. You did a wonderful job and were able to capture my brand in a way that reflects my personality. Thank you for your great work. Second, I also want to thank all the photographers at Pexels and Unsplash who provided the free stock images used throughout this website. You made my job so much easier, and your photographs are incredible.