Bren has a long history with Insite and has been an integral part of the company from nearly the beginning. This year, she’s accepted the role of President and she has embraced all of the responsibility, leadership, and change that comes with the advancement. In spite of being one of the busiest people at the office, she’s taken a few moments to answer some of our questions.

How did you get your start at Insite?

Adrienne was my very first client when I started my accounting business. She was a client for eleven years before I moved over to Insite as the Operations Director. It’s a fun story.

What’s one of your favorite experiences/memories at Insite?

I think the very first time a team member introduced me as our president (oh look, that’s going to make me weepy)… just the way it was said, it meant a lot.

If you had 5 minutes to teach someone something new, what would you teach?

I would teach empathy. The true basis of it is not necessarily putting yourself in someone else’s shoes but its actually being mentally silent and with that comes the ability to understand their perspective. By not having secondary conversations/thoughts,  you can actively listen and hear what somebody is saying.  It allows you to easily understand where they’re coming from without passing judgement or thinking about your response response. It does take practice to teach yourself to be mentally silent and fully listen to another person. I think it took me six months! 

How long have you lived in Texas?

I’ve lived in Texas for 25 years.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would really like to go to Ireland. I think it calls to my soul…one day I’ll go.

What brings you joy?

Helping people brings me joy– being a part of something! Maybe that’s why I love our work environment so much. In the most challenging situations I try to look for opportunities to find joy. I can thank my daugher, Morgan for that. With all of her challenges, every day she has expressed joy. Every day can be a challenge if you’re not careful, right? Crazy enough, it’s the same as empathy, after awhile it just becomes habit to search for it.

Tell us two things about you that we might not know.

I’m on a mission right now. I bought a book that lists all of the hiking trails within a hundred miles. My husband and I have a goal. We’ll knock them all out by the end of the year. I always wanted to be a hellicopter pilot. I may still do it!