So I actually don’t have that many blues about being a working mom but HEEYYY I got your attention 🙂 I have worked since I was 14 years old. My parents instilled in me that you get what you give and I have been hustling for 16 years now (wow I am old). Are there some days I would rather spend without a computer and phone in hand… YES. Are there times I miss out on certain activities to focus and accomplish what I need to in my 8 hour days… YES. Are there some days I cry because my babies are sick and a model hasn’t shown up for a job and I am overwhelmed… YES. Would I change any of this… NO.

I get asked often how I got into the modeling industry because it sounds (and actually is) one of the most fun jobs in the world. My mom signed my brother and I up with a local agency in my hometown of Valencia when I was 12 years old. Our neighbors the Duswalt’s had their own agency, were family friends that we trusted and took us under their wings. We did a few local things here and there but the unfortunate news is at 12/13 years old I was painfully shy (and we had some serious buck teeth see below). That isn’t the best character trait for a kid wanting to get into the business. Needless to say my Covergirl spread never happened BUT I got something better… a babysitting gig.

Natasha Duswalt owner of Peak Models and Talent saw that I LOVED her three boys and asked me to babysit weekly for them. That evolved into personal assisting and by the time I was 17 years old she started to teach me the ropes of the modeling industry. I saw her killing it as a working mom which was inspiring. I graduated from babysitting, to personal assisting, to receptionist, to accounting, and then booking by the time I was 19 years old. The Duswalt’s gave me a “trade school” I didn’t have to pay for!

I have always had a passion for music so at 19 I took a break from the modeling industry to pursue music dreams at Berklee College of Music. My dad sang me Cash, Waylon, Haggard, Dolly and Miller and my mom sang me Etta James, Anita Baker, James Taylor and Carly Simon. I had a lot of cool musical influences thanks to them which blossomed into a love of country, jazz and blues. BUT within 6 months of living in Boston, I realized my love of music was more personal for me, I was not a front woman, I missed warm weather and my family, and was ready to focus back on being the behind the scenes lady. I had no idea at the time that this would set me up for my career not only as a booking agent, but as a wife to an incredible musician. Below is a painful image of me trying to be a rockstar… lip piercing and all (Dakota, never happening.)

Peak Models and Talent was fortunately looking for another booker upon my return to LA so I jumped right back in. I have worked on some of the coolest projects ranging from commercials (fav being the most recent Coke commercial with Izzi), print jobs (fav was booking my brother as Spiderman and Wolverine which has become years of blackmail), runway shows (booked Adam Levine’s clothing launch at KMart RIP) and fittings. I have traveled the country and world learning my craft and meeting some of the most talented people in the industry. It is not a business for the faint of heart. I have made tough moves, transitions and decisions whether they be for myself or for model’s careers and I have reaped the benefits and consequences of those decisions. BUT I have learned. I have grown as a woman, booker, wife, mom and all around human being.

I have since worked with numerous different agencies and clients but my home is PEAK. I am fortunate enough to say I am back there doing what I love today. I get to stay in the thick of the LA madness while cleaning up milk spills in between phone calls. I hustle hard every single day to get the bookings in, the emails out, the babies in bed and the laundry done. Tonight I had a conversation with a casting director/fellow working mom which I figured out from the screams in the background that matched my children’s. Once I heard those baby cries we immediately became best friends. It’s working mom code.

This all being said, how did I get into the modeling industry? I was blessed. Blessed with a beautiful neighbor that became my mentor, I was blessed with opportunity, and I had the drive to take it all in and run with it. SO RUN.

Side note, if anyone one wants to learn more about the industry reach out to me and if you have a brother’s sister’s cousin’s baby that wants to be signed to an agency email me and I will see what I can do 🙂 xo