Bobbie Ridgely is the Director of A Future with Hope, which is a non-profit organization for Hurricane Sandy recovery. Before working in Recovery work, she had a full time job working in Telecommunications. When her daughter was born, Ridgely decided to leave work take care of her infant. She said that taking time off of work with a good salary was scary. A few years later, she moved to a project manager position in another company, where she gained budgeting experience. When she was working at this job, she managed/directed a group of men that were older than her; however, she does not think of that in terms of separating genders and being different. Ridgely said that perseverance and passion are indicators of success. She gave a great networking tip that seems especially doable for those with anxiety, like myself: start small and make it a goal to speak to at least 2 people at each event, gradually increasing each time. Her advice was that “it is okay if your job does not ‘touch your soul,’ but to stay involved with groups or people that do.”