In 2018, I had a wild idea. We were two tough years into trying to get pregnant. Brett and I had passed a decade doing long distance, or alternating work trips. We hadn’t spent more than a few weeks together, just us, in years.

From a young age, I loved writing. I wrote short stories, I wrote about the things I felt. In my daily life, I had a running narration in my head, like I was describing my experiences and lessons as I lived them. When I grew up, I knew I would be an author.

This saying – “build your parachute on the way down” – has a deep history in my family. It was passed down from my great grandma Kate, through my mom to me.

In 2018, I had a wild idea. We were two tough years into trying to get pregnant. Brett and I had passed a decade doing long distance, or alternating work trips. We hadn’t spent more than a few weeks together, just us, in years.

A year ago, I left my career and the organization that was my home for the past decade to start a new business, months before giving birth. I have had many adventures in my life so far, big and small, long and short.

To those who have the niggling feeling it’s time for change, a new passion, a better way to work, a new job, hell a new career. Maybe this has been brewing for some time, maybe the pandemic pushed you to the edge and you’re ready to move.

To those who read this and say “Yes!” — You’re my kind of wild warrior woman. I want to work with YOU. I have lived long enough to know what I stand for. I don’t have time for crap or people that sap my energy.

This is a call to teams, made up of human beings who see the potential for more, who want to know their peers have their back in these exhausting times, who want to trust there’s a bigger vision even though few see it now.

To humanitarians, to development workers, to all those serving a greater purpose. You’re passionate, you work your ass off. You’ve juggled three people’s jobs at once. You have been to the edge and back – the edge of the world, joy, sorrow, exhaustion, of humanity. Even through healthy skepticism, you see the potential.

I have been on lockdown, sometimes alone, sometimes with people I barely knew. I have felt the threat of kidnapping, infectious diseases. I have watched friends and colleagues respond to the Ebola crisis and fight illness in healthcare systems at home.