Our company & titles are… Co-owners of the Young Mind Center & Young Mind Community Center
A typical day in our lives includes… With everything going on with the center, there’s hardly a typical day. I will tell you that every day starts with coffee! Then it’s generally followed by a combination of meetings: meetings with families that are coming to the center (those are our favorite), meetings that involve decisions about furnishings or materials, meetings where sometimes we don’t even know what we’re meeting about! No, just kidding. We almost always know. Mostly.
My favorite thing about living/working in the North 32nd area is… Coming back to where I grew up! I’m so excited to start hiking the mountain preserve again. We even put a shower in one of the bathrooms so we can sneak in a hike any time of day. (Sara)
Our favorite movie we could never get tired of watching is… Waiting for Guffman – and why…I love all Christopher Guest’s movies. His characters are all so different and relatable. (Sara)
Our families… Are big and crazy and amazing and almost entirely located in Phoenix!
The business lesson we learned the hard way is… When we started, we didn’t want to have any policies or a handbook because we wanted people to use good judgement. Well, it turns out, our idea of good judgement is different from other peoples’. Now we understand that every policy, no matter how ridiculous, is there because someone did not practice good judgement.
When I was younger, I wanted to be… A veterinarian. I had a much easier time connecting with animals than humans. I have since learned that I love working with kids; it’s adults who are challenging. (Amanda)
The song I would sing at Karaoke night is… You really don’t want either of us signing at karaoke. It’s a little like golf – we’re not really good, but we’re going to get out there and act the part! We recently got together with our team at an amazing k-pop karaoke bar in Tempe and couldn’t help joining in on Tubthumping.
The last thing that made me laugh out loud was…definitely something one of my little clients said – they are amazing! (Amanda)
The perfect day would be… On a beach with cool weather, hanging out with family and friends, having a good meal, playing games, and listening to live music by Michael Franti & Spearhead. (Sara)
My first job was… I sorted shirts at a drycleaner. My dad found the job for me…now that I think about it, he probably wanted me to work there so he could get a discount! You’re welcome, Dad! (Amanda)
We’re currently working on… Opening an inclusive preschool and community center – this month! I moved to Arizona to open a center like this; it’s a vision becoming a reality! Sara’s background in community development and education has been instrumental in making this happen – and so quickly. With my background in psychology, we were trained in very different disciplines and see the world through two different lenses. Bringing our varying perspectives together has allowed us to connect pieces in ways they haven’t been connected before. We are creating something that redefines problems outside normal boundaries and innovates to reach new solutions and optimize results. It’s pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. (Amanda)
The best gift I’ve ever received was… A safari in Kenya with our entire family of 20. It was truly a trip of a lifetime! We were able to get closer to the animals than you could ever imagine. I also celebrated my 40th birthday while on the trip, and the tribe from the village where we were staying surprised me with a beautiful celebration with singing and dancing, and I was so overwhelmed I just cried. (Amanda)
The actor I would want to play me in a movie of my life is… Tina Fey. When I had longer hair, people told me that I looked like her. (Amanda)
Our words of wisdom to aspiring business owners… Look beyond obvious differences and see the connections; get clear on your mission and values; manage energy, not time; hire for character and train for skill; cultivate collective genius; practice gratitude and celebrate success; stay humble and recognize what you don’t know; find good mentors and ask for help; define success by the potential of what could be, not the limitation of what is.
