My mom is truly the first kick-ass lady I know. She's always been there for me, supporting me in everything I do and setting the bar high for me since I was old enough to walk. I'm so grateful for her example and love throughout my life. As a child, I remember her providing credentials for paying by check at K-Mart and saying, “Domestic Engineer, same address and phone number as on the check.” I had no idea what a Domestic Engineer was then, but now I would consider myself a Domestic Engineer too. She never finished college but she is and will always be a Domestic Engineer Suma Cum Laude in my real world.

My Mom, Dottie Erickson is now retired and enjoying her best life volunteering at her Church. She keeps her grandkid skills nimble by rocking babies in the nursery. She volunteers at the Kernersville Senior Center where she drives people who have vision and health impairments to their appointment and errands. Recently she performed CPR until paramedics arrived on an elderly woman who had fallen and was unconscious. She runs an Airbnb from her home and is for real, the hostess with the mostess. Her reviews gush with kindnesses and exceeded expectations. She also volunteers with the OCS kids here at the Watsucker Urban Farm when Eric and I are out of town. She enjoys her time with these high school students.

Once she has a project in mind for her time with them, she’s a force of goodness that will not be stopped.

My sister Wendy Hania is a POWERHOUSE of inspiration and kick-ass lady I have known since my birth. I have always looked up to her as her younger sister and friend. She is Mom to her three adult kids and wife to her husband Cass. Her church and community get a significant amount of her free time as does her chickens, knitting, gardening, and her W-2 job working for a tech start-up.

Ana Falcon is a kick-ass lady and fellow teacher and Mom to her three kids. She has been rehabbing High Point NC homes for over 5 years and is a force of goodness in her community. She operates her local woman-owned small business Flipped By Her as well as hosts an educational real estate podcast that is produced by one of her former students!