Having never spent a day in college, Mindy learned by doing. She learned by watching and by mirroring some of the greatest creative and production people in the ad business.
And after three decades of award winning producing and client service, her end goal always remained simply this: to always make our audio post sessions run smoothly and to create a stress free environment for our clients.
Whether it was a strong coffee you needed, or a voice-over who reads Spanish with an Italian accent. From casting to supervising the final mix, she was most gratified when clients walked away with a smile.
It’s the relationship that matters.
Click here to get involved with some of the great work that Mindy is doing on behalf of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Center.
How did you get into the business? In 1989, I was working at a job that was a dead end creatively. It was at a golf club manufacturer. I was despondent. And so I called my Mom just to talk about it. She reminded me that I’d never used the audio engineering education that I’d had. She inspired me to hang up the phone and call Universal Recording Chicago studio manager, Foote Kirkpatrick. Two weeks later, I started working as a production manager there.
What obstacles have you faced specifically because of your gender? Strong women in this business are constantly thought of as a threat. And not in a good way. I had to prove myself time and time again by putting out quality work, making people forget about gender, and concentrating on the task at hand. When I became an owner, there weren’t other women I could turn to at the time.
Best thing to ever happen to you to remind you that you are a woman? That’s an interesting question. I think recently, with all the marches and activism going on, it is an incredible time to be a woman. We’re owning our lives in a way that we’re not going to let go of. We’re being supportive of each other. And we’re learning that the majority of us have had incidents we can relate to.
Work you are most proud of? That I was the first female owner of an audio studio in Chicago and being a producer. No other studios had producers. We were the first.
How do you describe the most significant #metoo moment of your life? It happened when I was a child and I’d rather not speak of it publicly. Suffice it to say, my moment happened in a therapy session. And every time a man in the ad business tried to mansplain me.
How have professional attitudes towards women evolved during your career? To be honest, it’s only changing now. I’m in the second phase of a long and heralded career. Because cancer took my full time career, I’ve had to re-invent myself. I work from home occasionally. I think women are owning their own power. In the last few years, I saw it represented on screen in the spots we worked on. But it takes a while for real change. I think it’s taking real hold now.
Trapped on an island what essentials must you have? My Wife, my cats, my iPad, and super powerful wi-fi to stream Bravo.
If you had a time machine, what would you say to your past self? I’d say forget about advertising and go be that doctor you know you can be. Helping people and saving lives.
If you could have a one-on-one with anyone who would it be? And why? I’ve actually had that. Mine was Olivia Newton-John. She was the inspiration for my career in the first place. I was a horrible singer, so I went into audio engineering. Luckily for me, that meant getting to know some of my biggest musical inspirations. Olivia’s work with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre is changing people’s lives. It’s sure changed mine. I’m Benefactor as they call it, and I’ve raised lots of money for their wellness programs. So I had the chance to sit down with her and chat many times. I’m a lucky lady.
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