Tia grew up splitting her time between North East Pennsylvania and the Florida Keys. Her parents were snowbirds, so she grew up accustomed to spending the cold winter months in the tropical weather. Growing up in 2 towns each year was great from a weather perspective, but Tia found the change and constant back and forth made it hard for her to create close bonds and friendships as an adolescent and a struggle to fit in, especially as a teen. Paired with some childhood trauma, Tia found herself battling with depression, anxiety, and diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at the age of 19. As a result, she was often alone and could always be found walking around by herself with headphones on while listening to her Walkman. Tia did find joy in movement though, she loved to play soccer, volleyball, lift weights and run. Even though she was a bit of a lone wolf, she could always find a way to make those around her laugh with her dry and witty sense of humor, which she used as a defense mechanism to keep things light, fun and surface level.Â
From a young age she always felt a sense of responsibility to take care of those around her, to do the right thing, and always stay out of trouble. She loathed the feeling of being unprepared or in trouble, which are traits she’s carried into her adulthood (with the exception of a few speeding tickets ;P).
She graduated from Penn State with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business a semester early and completed her Master’s Degree in less than 18 months by taking classes at night and weekends, while working full time as an analyst for the Department of Defense. She worked as an analyst for 10 years in the DoD. Being a Civilian in the DoD enabled Tia to grow, but also showed her that as long as she was working for someone else, she would always be constrained or limited to exist within the preset parameters and existing rules in place, no matter the effort or excellence shown in her position.
She excelled at compiling data and breaking mass amounts of complex data down to actionable facts, which she often presented to high level officials. She used her subject matter expertise, work ethic, wit, dedication and sense of humor to grow within the organization.Â
Fast forward to when Tia met Kevin back in the fall of 2011. She never met anyone like him and could tell early on that she had found the one she would love forever, even though he challenged her more than anyone ever had. When Tia met Kevin also he had a 1 year old son, and not knowing if she wanted any of her own children at the time, she found herself quickly in love with Kevin and his son Alex, so much so that she and Kevin were engaged in 2012 and married in 2013.Â
Tia went from never knowing if she wanted children of her own, to not being able to have any (the irony). After multiple doctors appointments and fertility doctors she began her fertility journey with Kevin in 2014. By 2016 after multiple rounds of failed treatments, they moved to IVF to conceive. They completed their first round of IVF in 2016 and got pregnant on their first try of IVF. The pregnancy was going great - good blood work results, ultrasound with a heartbeat, then it wasn’t. Tia suffered a missed miscarriage in June of 2016, and sunk into a deep depression.Â
Before officially starting another IVF cycle during the holidays of 2016-2017, Tia found out she was pregnant, and she and Kevin welcomed James in September of 2017. Several years later she and Kevin wanted to expand their family further, so they did IVF again and after multiple failed cycles and embryo transfers they got pregnant with Mia (during COVID) and she was born in January of 2021. Their youngest child Ava took everyone by surprise, especially Tia & Kevin, and joined the family in December of 2023.Â
Being a Mom is the accomplishment Tia is most proud of. She is eager to enjoy time with her husband and children as they grow up and grateful that she can be present with them.Â
Tia’s Mission Statement can be summed up in 1 word: Harmony.
Although much of Tia’s life was imbalanced, turbulent and traumatizing at times, she continues to grow, heal and strive for harmony in her world. She is committed to be a better version of herself each day, a better wife, Mom and leader. Some of Tia’s hobbies include hanging out with the people she loves and her dogs, working out, running, escaping into a good tv series, fishing in the Florida Keys, eating really good food and sleeping.