P2P

41 I L T A N E T . O R G growing, what's the point? But if pushed to choose something, I would say how to become an effective thought leader. It's something that I'm only beginning to learn. I've always led by example, and I'm curious to learn more about other methods of leading to become more adaptable to my audience as I grow in management and leadership positions. Do you find it challenging to be a woman in your position or role? If so how? In my personal experience, no. There are the occasional people who are condescending, but my impression is that is who they are, and it has nothing specifically to do with me or my gender. Have you had any mentors throughout your career and how have they made an impact or contributed to your success? I've been fortunate to have some amazing mentors, especially female ones. • Eva-Marie Nye, the director of my department in my current position, has been so encouraging of me taking on leadership roles both in and outside of the firm by participating in projects with other departments and in association events. • Katherine Lowry from Baker Hostetler has become a mentor of mine through the Leadership Academy program from AALL. She's been a great resource on how to think about leadership on a larger scale. How to challenge myself and really examine my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and how to leverage them to find my path in leadership. • Finally, at my previous and first law firm, Sidley Austin, Linda Wolf, has been a wealth of knowledge about the workings of law firms and helping me gain new perspectives and understanding of traditional workings and the changes that have happened in firm settings. She was one of the first to encourage me to pursue more leadership roles. They've all been incredibly inspiring and their belief in my ability to be a leader lends me the belief in myself to be one. They've been sounding boards when I'm unsure of next steps or what my focus should be, supporters when I need encouragement, and inspirations of the type of leader I want to be for others. What have been the strongest influences of your life? My parents. They taught me a strong work ethic, independence, and belief in myself and my abilities. They both teach, so everything is a learning experience. What did you learn? What can you do better next time? Like many athletes, sports coaches and teammates also had a strong influence, but not in the way most people credit them. I had a few good coaches; however, some were terrible and difficult people. There were some great players with lots of skills but who left much to be desired on a personal level. They taught me how to operate effectively in toxic environments, how to work with people you personally do not get along with and how to leave personal feelings outside of the workspace (or field) to be a productive team member. Describe your biggest obstacle in life and how did you overcome it? Oh. Tough question. I find it difficult to answer this because I've been fortunate enough to not have any huge obstacles to overcome – or I have, but because my typical mindset is to view things as a challenge – and I love a challenge – I don't frame them as "obstacles" but learning opportunities. Even when you say, "obstacle course" my initial reaction is, "Oh, challenge." I won't say that everything in my life has been perfect or without its difficulties, but I've been lucky to have a strong support system who believes in me and a belief that I will persevere which has helped me through tough times and reach success. ILTA Deanna was a great guest for our team and we enjoyed our thoughtful and insightful conversation. There's also a fantastic podcast to accompany this article that will be available in the Spring 2023 issue. C O N T I N U I N G T H E C O N V E R S A T I O N

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