What is your professional background?
I’ve been working in the accounting profession for an astonishing 30+ years—at two accounting offices, one of which was in Alaska, then in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon. I helped an allergy-immunology practice launch two locations about ten years ago, then moved on to Fuel as their controller in November of 2013 in our quaint little city of Camas, WA.
What do you do here at Fuel, and what is your favorite part of your job?
I do what controllers do—control! A surprise side project of mine is overseeing the books for Grains of Wrath brewery here in Camas. Did you know Brendan and Shawn opened a brewery a few years ago? My husband is especially appreciative of this aspect of my job, as I’m able to supply him with crowlers on any given day since the brewery is located just two blocks from our Fuel office.
What is your favorite thing about Fuel’s office culture?
A fact relevant now more than ever is the feeling of family here at Fuel. As an example, in the current state of COVID-19 we have two all-company Microsoft Teams meetings each week to keep everyone up to date on the current status of our members, the constantly changing regulations in all states and a general check-in of what’s happening in the company. Shawn Parker, ever the entertainer, always has a TV screen on in his background Teams view to keep all 106 of us employees amused. The other day we enjoyed baby sloths slowly climbing tree branches, but we’ve also had the pleasure of viewing fluffy, playful kittens, Richard Simmons exercise videos and random movies such as Napoleon Dynamite.
In a time of crisis, Brendan and Shawn have remained steadfast and calm, providing entertainment and humor along the way. In another Teams meeting, rather than finances or legal updates, conversation revolved mostly around mental health, exercise and feelings of anxiety among staff and our members. Suggestions were made supplying us with tools and ideas we could use to alleviate some of these issues. I appreciate the concern shown by them in times of obvious financial struggle. They clearly care about their Fuel family.
Do you have any fun facts about yourself you’d like to share?
I grew up in the barren tundra land of Alaska and escaped to this lovely corner of the world as soon as I turned 21. Strange fact—it wasn’t until I moved to Vancouver, WA that I was able to witness a bear rooting around in my back yard. Photo evidence of the big guy eating my bird seeds below. Coincidentally, my partner in the accounting department here at Fuel, Christina Kalachik, is also from Alaska. If you call our main line, one of us ladies will be here to help you.