Life has always been about the journey, not the destination for Alisa. She loved to draw, paint, and mostly sell what she made. She wasn’t aware that she could build a career with her art. She was the first of her parents to go to college. She had a knack for sports and always had a ball in her hand. Her parents emphasized, that access to a major university, would be with a sports scholarship. Tennis was her game; art was her passion. If her high school counselor even knew about schools like RISD, Pratt or Savannah College of Art & Design, she may have headed that direction. However, that wasn’t her path. She “came out” in 1993, two weeks before high school graduation (at a time when even ELLEN didn’t hit the Cover of Time magazine for another 4 years). She would drive home on her lunch hour to get the mail before her Mom and stepdad came home and removed any tennis scholarship interest letters/offers (in fear of being forced to attend (hindsight says they may have been right)) and later moved to Austin with her high school girlfriend right after graduation. Her parents didn’t understand her move and her religious upbringing only made it all more confusing on why the quick departure from Houston to Austin. Her work ethic, optimistic spirit, and creative vision revealed its purpose pretty quickly. She followed her heart and landed in a community that was accepting (at the time it was phrased “open-minded”) and of course, creative. She called Austin home. Struggling for acceptance and driven to lead and create a business of her own, Alisa moved up the rankings in companies she worked for prior to starting her own creative agency. At 16, she was the top sales rep for a concept retailer called Natural Wonders. She was promoted to Floor Merchandiser and offered management role by 18. Putting herself through school, she had to make more money and afford a schedule, so that she could maintain her schoolwork. Three weeks post its opening, her application was accepted to HEB Central Market (CM), the first grocery store of its kind where she worked 5am-1pm shifts in produce so she could go to school 2-10pm. That full time work and school schedule opened more doors and she ended up as Regional Art Director for all stores until 1999. She learned from the best and developed creative ideas on a budget and built signs, displays, marketing materials, concepts, murals, and private label goods. Her resourcefulness and vision outweighed her boss’ budget limitations. After gaining her associates degree in general studies and commercial art from Austin Community College, the founder of CM paid Alisa’s way to the University of Texas at Austin. Unfortunately, the years of retail hours and missed family holidays wasn’t her plan either. With a paved way for ‘CM management’, Alisa left CM and one woman she worked alongside at CM helped her get her career break and this changed everything for Alisa. As Alisa recalls, Nona had started working at HEB at age 16 and landed at the corporate level (few women had at that time). She saw her drive and hard work and inspired Alisa to dream. Nona had recently hired a leading ad agency, and she would ultimately refer Alisa to lead the new client, DELL as Art Director. With a limited portfolio and a driven personality, Alisa was hired. After a couple of years gaining deep understanding of the ad agency model and traveling around the country art directing photoshoots, she knew she could do it better, or differently with a new team. In 2001, when the “dot com” bust happened, Alisa thrived by hiring talent as needed (extending the team with preferred partners), passing the staff fee savings to her client base, and relishing in serving the underdog by applying her creative solutions to businesses that weren’t in the limelight. They may not have appeared ‘cool’, but the challenges, budgets, and results were. Since, she has served more than 500 clients, founded and funded a media company, served on more than 15 nonprofit boards, donated more than six figures in billable time to her community, and understood what it takes to start, work, resource, fund, maintain and sustain business. As a commercial artist, she utilized her art background in creating business graphics. Designing logo identities, brands campaigns, editorials, advertisements, websites, social campaigns, interior and exterior spaces, signage, direct mail, publications and events. Her work as an owner/designer of WELL+DONE DESIGN has impacted hundreds of projects that are visible locally, regionally and nationally. She was able to be her own client when she created the idea and founded L Style G Style. In 2004, she was inspired on a trip to Portland where she witnessed gay couples walking their kids down the street in strollers which appeared to her like a Norman Rockwell painting. Her conservative upbringing and traditional guidance led her to create a media company that would ‘soft sell’ the Lesbian and Gay community. At the time, you couldn’t check a box on the Census that you were even L or G much less B or T. Business leaders were still in the closet and “out” leaders where only visible in LGBT nonprofits. Inspired by the Sears catalog (dual covers and sides focused targeting men on one side and women on the other), Alisa designed a magazine that would give equal focus to both lesbian women and gay men and divide the magazine at its center with a heavy paper weight of advertisements. For years, gay men dominated the LGBT nonprofits and it was her way to give equality to each gender and value each group. Her efforts were new, and her design of this magazine were thoughtful in changing kitchen table conversations with families. Her ultimate selling philosophy wasn’t that of a magazine but of acceptance to a community that she represented and wanted her own family to embrace. When you saw L Style G Style - your first impression was that it was a “lady” and “Gentleman” magazine…, it wasn’t until you were done reading the stories that she exposed, that you knew they ‘happened to be gay’ - her focus - meet the person, see their face, make your judgement after you know their good. After more than 1200 stories, her work with L Style G Style changed the city landscape on the LGBT community. It was a labor of love, and it took everything from her, and it brought her back to center. Running the business, she missed her creative work, designing things to help businesses move the needle forward. In addition, she lost herself in “keeping up” with expectations of others. She was seeking, searching and wanting to connect. She built a brand on it and it was connecting on matters of the heart. Alisa’s heart is full of emotion and her place of finding that happened on a hike up the backside of Aspen mountain. Overweight and struggling, she got to the top and cried, looked up and out and “Let go and Let God”. Over the years, she had become religiously neutral, yet spiritually anchored. She felt something she hadn’t felt before. She surrendered. This moment opened a new door. One of truth and one of love. Weeks later, it all changed. She fell in love. And in love, she learned. Learned what it means to have your heart read, what it means to forgive, when to remain quiet and patient rather than react, and how to show kindness amongst hatred. She also learned that what you can carry in a backpack is about all you need. Love has brought her to the simple things that mean the most to her. Riding bikes in nature, holding hands on a walk, quietness, sharing, listening, and not working with an agenda. Since then, love has revealed itself in many ways and is embodied by her heart rocks. They appear on bike rides and hikes, never ‘searched for’, just revealed to her. As Alisa says “When love is revealed to you, it is about letting go and trusting in God. We’re all on our path, how great is it that we get to uncover it every day. There is a reason, a season, and a lifetime for everything.”