From Dancer to Fractional CFO/CHRO: A Story of Intentional Work

In the late 1980s, I moved to New York City with $500 in my pocket, against my parents’ wishes, to become a modern dancer. My goal wasn’t to join a prestigious company or appear in the New York Times. My goal was simpler: to be good at the art form itself.

Because I lacked formal training, I approached it methodically. I sought certificate programs, such as Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and Alvin Ailey, that would truly teach me. I chose Martha Graham partly because there were fewer men in the program, and I knew I would get more attention to grow. The live music also drew me in. At first, the technique felt rigid, even jarring, but over time, it transformed me. My body grew strong and gazelle-like without me even realizing it was happening.

I supplemented my training wherever I could: hiring a trainer at the gym to help me build strength, asking other dancers for technical feedback, spending weekends at the Lincoln Center library watching archival videos, and ushering at the Joyce Theater to see performances for free. For the first ten years, out of seventeen total, my body resisted. Slowly, I learned what Graham herself taught: it takes a decade to make a dancer. That lesson wasn’t just about dance; it was about any craft. Mastery requires time, patience, and the challenges that shape you, whether in plumbing, teaching, finance, or HR.

The last company I danced with, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, blended mind and body in extraordinary ways. We were given tasks and assignments to create dance phrases inspired by books or articles. Imagine building choreography from research on the human genome or Parkinson’s disease. My assignment was Dean Hamer’s analysis of the proposed “gay gene.” That period was magical. I learned how to produce high-level work with little direction and, just as importantly, how to share the thinking that led me there. It was a powerful muscle to build.

Eventually, the constant travel wore me down. The turning point came one night at dinner with friends. I was excited about buying a new Schwinn bicycle; they were celebrating closing on their first home. We were the same age. That contrast shook me. Soon after, I took a series of personality tests, and the results kept pointing toward finance, HR, and marketing. I pivoted. I earned my MBA at Baruch College, joined a boutique marketing agency, and began building a career in operations, finance, and HR. Later, I also completed an MS in Accountancy from Southern New Hampshire University.

As I grew into CFO roles, my approach to numbers and people mirrored my approach to dance: always learning, always bringing in fresh ideas, always treating the work as an art form. When one job didn’t work, I shifted into consulting, eventually embracing the identity of a fractional CFO and CHRO.

Today, as an entrepreneur with Nonprofit Operations, I still carry that dancer’s discipline. I set my own price point, choose my projects, and navigate client relationships with the understanding that people bring their whole selves, their lives, and stresses into the workplace. My decades of learning have shown me that success doesn’t come from titles, praise, or external validation.

My gift to others is this: whatever you do, be intentional about the work. Centering the work itself will reward you tenfold, no matter the field.