I've been through hard pivots before. Every one made me more capable than the version before.

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Where It Started

I didn't take the traditional path into engineering. I started waitressing as a teenager, landed a tool and die apprenticeship, and built a 33-year career at Ford and Dauch from there.

That apprenticeship changed everything. I graduated, worked as a journey person for a couple of years, and then a superintendent — someone who saw something in me before I fully saw it in myself — sponsored me into engineering. Not mentored. Sponsored. He put his name next to mine and opened a door I couldn't have opened alone.

That's the difference between someone who gives you advice and someone who changes your trajectory. I've never forgotten it.

What I Built Over 31 Years

I spent 31 years at Ford Motor Company. I came up through the trades, moved into engineering, and worked my way through gear engineering, tooling and gauging, and multiple management roles. I retired as the Prototype Operations Manager for Powertrain — responsible for transmission, engine, axle, and additive manufacturing.

After Ford, I served as the Global Director of Prototype Operations at American Axle and Manufacturing. Between those two roles, I spent over three decades inside complex manufacturing organizations, learning how they really work — not the org chart version, but the human version.

The Eight Years in Between

After leaving automotive, I founded and ran an organization that served the automotive industry for eight years. I built programs, ran cohorts, designed curriculum, and worked with senior leaders on culture, leadership, and organizational performance.

That experience gave me something I didn't expect: a deep understanding of how organizations adopt new ways of working and, more importantly, why they resist.

The Shift to AI

In April 2025, I enrolled in an AI boot camp. I completed the full program. Then I went through it again. I joined a weekly mastermind where I continue to learn new skills every single week. And I started building.

I have now logged thousands of hours of hands-on AI work. Not watching tutorials. Building. Custom GPTs, Copilot agents, prompt architectures, workflows, learning libraries, onboarding systems, matching tools, and full applications.

I'm not a technologist. I have no technical background. I'm turning 60 this year. And that's exactly why I'm the right person to teach this. If I can build this level of capability through discipline and structured learning, so can you.