Cue the Talking Heads
This was never the plan. I grew up in a tiny Western PA town called Saxonburg - the kind of place with one street, no traffic lights, and more churches than cafés. I was raised on the classic millennial starter pack:
“If you work hard, keep your head on straight, and do your best, you’ll have a long, successful career.”
But I’m also an elder millennial, so…
2000: Graduated high school as the dot-com bubble burst. Great timing.
2001: Sophomore in college during 9/11.
2006: Finally graduated… just in time for the Great Recession.
2008: Moved to D.C. for the first time and voted for Barack Obama (YAY! We miss you.).
2010: Enrolled in grad school because the job market was doing its best impression of a sinkhole.
2011 – 2016: A blur of moves, decent-but-not-great jobs, and existential character development.
2017: Returned to D.C. to pursue my dream of working with the federal government, NGOs, and nonprofits.
2018 – 2024: Living that nomad dream, COVID-19, COVID-19 recession, lived through Hurricane Helene in Asheville, NC.
2025: Fired by the government when I had a job I really liked. Abruptly unemployed for the third time - and not because I didn’t work hard, keep my head on straight, or do my best.
At that point I said: You know what? I’m good.
I was tired of my economic stability being determined by other people’s choices, market chaos, and whichever global crisis was trending that year. So, I took a deep breath, consulted the universe, and said, “Fine. You win. Let’s do this.”
Wonders Strategy was born out of a desire for stability in a world that often feels like it’s spinning off its axis. It was built on the belief that trust, community-rooted solutions, equity, global approaches, and evidence-supported change are how real impact happens… and how people thrive in the process. Human sacrifice isn’t required for success.
But I’m also very aware that building a business takes more than confidence and a Canva subscription. I reached out to the successful business owners in my life, leaned on people who’ve done this before, and hired experts who could help me skip the preventable mistakes (or at least make fewer spectacular ones). I’ll share more about them in the coming weeks.
My advice: If you’re feeling that nudge - or shove - from the universe to take control of your future, pay attention. Talk to people. Ask for help. Move forward with the deep, unshakeable millennial truth that: If I can do this… trust me, you certainly can.