Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself – where you live, about your family, what you did before DE?
A: I live with my wife, Kathryn, and our two boys, Nathan (13) and Owen (11) in Raleigh, NC. We have been married for 15 years and have lived in the same home since our big day. The boys have enjoyed the stability of one home and one school their entire life whereas I moved seven times by age 14 with stops in Indiana, Iowa, California, and Pennsylvania. Moving around that much honed my skills at making friends fairly quickly. Prior to joining DE, I spent 20 years in the behavioral health field as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) doing direct clinical work and then in various management positions with a large behavioral health insurance company.
Q: How long have you been at DE and what brought you here?
A: I started with DE in April 2019. I had been laid off as a result of a merger/acquisition from the aforementioned insurance company and was open to something new but wasn’t sure what. I absolutely did not have a publisher of a local Catholic magazine on my bingo card! A Holy Spirit moment prompted my leap of faith, however. While discerning my path forward, I had a telephone conversation with someone in DE’s home office in Wisconsin. This individual asked the name of my parish here in NC, St. Catherine of Siena, and then asked, “Isn’t Fr. Tighe the pastor there?” My jaw hit the ground because how could this random person in Wisconsin know the priest who meant so much to us, who had married my wife and I and baptized one of our boys? Turns out he had spent a year in campus ministry at NC State and met Fr. Tighe a few times. I took this conversation as the Holy Spirit giving me the green light to pursue working with DE. If I had any doubt, it was put to rest when I made my very first sale on Good Friday!
Q: Who is your favorite saint and why?
A: St. Anthony is my favorite saint. He is a frequent intercessor often helping me locate my phone or sunglasses and even my wife’s engagement/wedding rings one time.
Q: Where do you have the best memories while on a vacation?
A: We enjoyed an epic family vacation with extended family in Hawaii. Highlights included zip lining, kayaking, snorkeling with giant sea turtles, and a sunset dinner cruise around the island. Absolutely beautiful!
Q: What was your first car?
A: I inherited my family’s minivan as my first car. It was a great lesson in humility being a young guy in his 20s driving a minivan! The first car I ever purchased was a 5-speed, 2-door Honda Accord. I wish I still had it but a close encounter with a deer made that impossible.
Q: What advice would you have for someone new joining the DE team?
Q: Embrace the discomfort of not knowing everything you’ll eventually learn and simply dive into the work. And I don’t mean tip-toeing into the water, I mean doing a big fat cannon ball in the deep end! Get your 3 yeses everyday, study your resources, and run as many appointments as possible in your first month. You’ll make sales and prove to yourself you can do this. Belief and convocation are huge in this business! Also, talk to your division manager or region advisor everyday. They want you to be successful and enjoy answering questions.
Q: What is your favorite summer treat?
A: Gin and tonics and ice cream…not necessarily at the same time and not just limited to summer (let’s be honest)!
Q: What do you love most about DE?
A: Undoubtedly, I love the people and culture here at DE. Adam was my RA and helped me get through some challenging times and periods of doubt. Without his persistence, I’m not sure I would still be here. It’s rare to work in a place where EVERYONE (not an overstatement in my opinion) is so genuine and down to earth. The “begin again” culture mirrors that of our Catholic faith and rightly puts the focus on today and tomorrow rather than yesterday.