Today’s featured woman is Cynthia Adamson (Boeh) Alberth. I first met Cynthia at a Golf Tournament in 2006. We were in San Diego for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Annual Meeting. Somehow during this tournament, the organizers put all the “girls” together in their own foursome. Fate must have been smiling down upon us that day, as I’m still in touch with all three ladies.
The first thing you notice about Cynthia is her laugh. Well, “notice” might not be the right word. You hear her laugh first. And then you think, “Wow I want to know what’s so funny. I’ve got to see who is having such a great time.” Her laugh if infectious. You can’t help but have a fun time when she is around. Like the time we wrecked our electric scooters in Austin… but that’s a story for another day.
Once you get past the laugh and the fun, you realize there is serious substance in her. Cynthia is one smart cookie. She’s been General Counsel at several international companies where she’s had to build the legal department from the ground up. Not a task for the faint of heart. She has a fearless “can do” attitude and I love working with her.
Besides the legal side of our lives as General Counsel, Cynthia and I are kindred spirits in many other ways.
She and I are both the mom of three boys, of roughly the same age. We can share stories about our boys that will make you laugh until you cry. Or is it cry until you laugh? I think it’s both!
We’ve been single moms for too many years to count. Ah, the online dating stories we could tell you; now those are just too much and we need to write a book about those stories!
And we both found love again and remarried recently. We even reveled in crafty projects together when we folded many, many rose-shaped napkins for her wedding in May. Don’t ask me about stealing a golf cart at her wedding.
Cynthia is one of the most resilient people I know. She raised her 3 boys by herself since they were 3, 5, and 8. By herself. Did I say that already? She managed to put food on the table, pay the mortgage and raise them to adulthood, despite having lost her job three times in that period. They are all adults that have gone through or are in college now. And, Cynthia is still standing. No one went to jail (not even her). Talk about resilience.
One of the things I remember most was her comment to me after she changed jobs and after she started at the new company, she found out some things that did not match her level of integrity. She had the balls to leave that job, even as a single mom, because it was, in her words, “not as advertised.” I respect her so much for being able to see a bad situation for what it was and get out of it right away. I know a lot of people would have stuck it out and been worse for it, including me.
I am so jealous of Cynthia’s home, which is a version of my dream house on a lake. I’m sure that having only one bathroom raising 3 boys there was sometimes a challenge, but she is quick to point out that it is on a dead end with many trees. When my husband and I visited her earlier this year, we enjoyed the lake views immensely. I told her I was going to camp out at her house and write my next book while enjoying that view and she said “Perfect”!
Cynthia is always on the lookout for a great new wine. And now she is looking for a General Counsel position in the area between Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI.
Who, in your life, “is ALL that?”
Stay tuned for the next entry in She’s ALL That! (fka 90 Women in 90 Days), Cynthia is #9 if you are counting.
#ShesALLThat
#Andyouaretoo
#Andsoareyou
#TheNextLevel
