I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be “a woman in manufacturing.”
I grew up helping my parents on the family farm, convinced I’d one day live in the Big City and work at a CPG marketing firm. My dad was a steamfitter by trade, cattleman by night. From him, I learned early that hard work creates opportunity.
He said:
1️⃣ Listen more than you talk.
2️⃣ Work hard and smart.
3️⃣ Do things right the first time.
At 18, I went to college in a mid-sized city. ( 🦡 Go Badgers!🦡)
At 22, I landed my first full-time gig at an in-house design firm & ad agency.
At 24, a regional marketing firm.
At 29, a publicly-traded Fortune 500 manufacturer supporting product lifecycle marketing and dealer communications.
At 32, a $2B supplier to OEMs & their Tier 1s, where I built the enterprise brand, marketing, and communications functions from the ground up.
That meant defining both the employer and supplier value proposition, establishing brand architecture, and creating a narrative that connected a complex industrial solutions business to its customers, workforce, and stakeholders.
But it wasn’t just strategy and sexy visuals. It was sleeves rolled up, doing the work—brand and market research, shaping thought leadership, building content (lots of high-quality content!), developing demand gen and recruitment campaign narratives—making sure the brand showed up with authenticity, consistency, and differentiation.
And I've had a surprising amount of fun bridging the gap between highly technical, complex products and services and the need to build human trust over long sales and recruitment cycles.
I was raised with the understanding that opportunities and credibility are earned by doing the work others don’t or won’t.
Don't get me wrong, I’ve made my share of mistakes. I spent time (occasionally) chasing and testing the wrong things. But eventually, I found my way back to what matters. I learned from it and adjusted accordingly.
Being a woman in manufacturing isn’t what defines me—but it does mean something. It means showing other young women that manufacturing offers viable and meaningful careers.
And it means building something real in an industry that is vital to our economy.
I’m not here to 'just' tell manufacturing stories. I’m here to build in it. Grow with it. To mentor the next generation!
If you’re a manufacturing leader trying to better connect your story to customers, workforce, and market—I’d love to connect.
#Manufacturing #B2BMarketing #BrandStrategy #IndustrialMarketing #WomenInManufacturing #MarketingLeadership #EmployerBranding
