The Story Behind 3FG

I was born in Greer, SC when my mother was 16. Because my mom was a kid herself, she depended heavily on the kindness and availability of her family and neighbors for childcare. As a child, I hid what was, to me, an unconventional upbringing from my friends. What my home life lacked in access to books and structure, I found in school under my teachers’ guidance and sometimes from an unlikely source, like the alarm clock my mother gifted me in the third grade. An alarm clock sounds minor, but I used it as a tool for self-sufficiency. The compassion and attention of my teachers helped me move through some of the challenges of my childhood and forge a path for myself that included a strong support system outside of the home, including friends and extracurricular activities throughout high school. I pursued my interest in teaching at the College of Charleston. 

While studying for my degree, I worked full-time and struggled with hunger and burnout to the point my academic career suffered. After two and a half years of trying to survive, I left school and returned home. Eventually, I secured a job at a bank where I excelled for over seven years but was overlooked for management opportunities due to my lack of a degree. I was motivated to return to school at USC Upstate, where I graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with non-profit and for-profit administration coursework. After graduation, I worked at the City of Spartanburg, growing an administrative position into a coordinator position. That coordinator position launched me into a ten-year career with United Way of Greenville County, concluding with the title of Associate Vice President of Community Impact. 

Today, I run my consulting firm, 3FG, a name inspired by two other strong women and me in my family who were born to teenage moms and who built impressive careers and impactful lives, despite lacking access to the resources afforded to many CEOs and leaders.