Current job title: Special programs coordinator at The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University.

Hometown: Duxbury, Mass.

Family: Husband, Rob Hale, associate provost at WKU; daughter, Barbara Solberg-Hale, a senior at Bowling Green High School; son, Eddie Solberg-Hale, a sophomore at BGHS; and dog, her ladyship Velvita “Vita” Shaleberg, a 5-year-old beagle mix we brought home from the Warren County Humane Society in March. Vita has gotten us through the pandemic!

The one thing no one knows about me is … I was the captain and starting point guard of my high school basketball team.

My dream job is … to write fiction for money. Or to be a taste-tester at a chocolate factory.

My first job was … dusting knickknacks and wrapping presents at a gift shop near Plymouth Rock that only played easy-listening music.

The best advice I ever got was … from my dad, “Move to the ball,” and from my mom, “Go to bed; you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

My hero (and why) is … Patsy Sloan, because of her many contributions to her community, her love of travel and reading, and the way she has made so many lifelong friends. She is also the best next-door neighbor ever.

If I could do it all over again, … I would be kinder to myself, especially in my teens and 20s.

The part of my job I could do without is … the realities of money. The center has reached so many young people, educators and families, but we could reach even more with infinite resources.

The one thing I always carry with me is … a book. My kids say I also always have a water bottle and chapstick.

The best meal I ever had was … my husband’s crawfish étouffée.

At the top of my bucket list is … to finally do the bourbon trail.