Elizabeth Bland Glynn is the chief operating officer at Travois. She has been with the company for eight years, but if you ask her she’ll tell you she’s grown up with Travois. Elizabeth is the daughter of Travois’ founders, David Bland and Marianne Roos. We asked Elizabeth to fill out this questionnaire so our clients and other staff members could get to know her better.
Read on to learn more about her.
1. What do you do at Travois? I hope to make things run more smoothly. I try to take care of the details, from planning for the future to upgrading our technology, to suggesting what to have for our staff lunch on Fridays, so our employees can focus on our clients and (hopefully!) love to come to work everyday.
2. What education have you attained? I have a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University with a major in political science.
3. What attracted you to Travois? I grew up with Travois, so it’s in my blood. I love how we are a mission-driven small family business — we do more than just make a profit; we work to provide affordable housing to deserving communities. I also love that I bring my children and dog to work with me every day!
4. How do your past experiences help you in your current position? I traveled extensively before coming to work for Travois. I met people in West Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe and South America. I watched how they interacted, learned what is important to them, and saw the cultural differences that make each of their communities unique. I try to include the best of what I learned from those experiences in my work here. I also worked at a very big software company and saw how larger corporate companies do things. I learned many valuable lessons there, some of which I have helped translate to our much smaller company. For example, the importance of a maintaining an up-to-date and well-organized technological infrastructure.
5. What places in Indian Country have you enjoyed visiting and why? When I first started working for Travois, I racked up so many frequent flier miles I got two free tickets to Paris one year! I love to travel and especially enjoy meeting new people and eating the local specialty. I will never forget a delicious burrito I had on the Yakama Reservation several years ago, meeting adorable little children while seeing houses that were going to be rehabilitated on the Mississippi Choctaw Reservation, and the countless beautiful drives through the Southwest, Northwest and Plains of the United States.
6. What is one thing you would like Travois staff and clients to know about you? I love to cook. I enjoy baking and cooking meals for friends and family — desserts especially. I have to give them to other people so I don’t eat it all myself!
7. What is one of your favorite housing or economic development projects that Travois has worked on and why? One of my favorite projects Travois has helped finance is the electrical substation on the Navajo Reservation. While it’s nothing too amazing to look at, it helped provide electricity to more than 400 people that had previously never had it before. Amazing!
8. What did you want to be as a kid? I wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder from “Little House on the Prairie.” I think I’m pretty close! I live very close to the prairie in Kansas, we travel with our family to new and exciting places seeking adventure, and I can cook a mean cornbread!
9. Do you have a hidden talent? I used to be a gymnast and could do many of the awesome flips and acrobatic moves. My skills are a little rusty however, so my other hidden talent is that I am secretly an expert on celebrity baby trivia.
10. Many Travois staff members are animal lovers. Do you have a pet? Have you ever brought your pet to the office? Yes, my dog Deacon, a golden doodle, comes with us most days to the office.
11. What is your favorite meal? What is your favorite local restaurant? I love breakfast — cinnamon rolls, pancakes, bacon, sausage, biscuits, grits, the list goes on… My favorite restaurant is Aixois, a French restaurant near my house. It’s casual and friendly, and the food is simple but delicious.
12. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could take one item with you, what would it be? My cell phone. I’m addicted. I could use it to call for help, talk with my family, see pictures of my kids, watch movies, and read news articles. I guess I’d better have a solar battery charger as well!
13. What talent do you wish you had? I’d love to be able to play a musical instrument or sew. I have lots of plans for when my three kids require less attention!
14. What do you like to do when you aren’t working? Go out to dinner with my husband or friends, read novels or non-fiction, decorate my house, and sit on our patio and drink a glass of wine.
15. What is your favorite thing to do in Kansas City? Spend time with our friends and family at one of the many awesome restaurants in town.
16. What do you like about Kansas City? What do you dislike? I have grown to like Kansas City barbeque. My family is from North Carolina, and we eat vinegar-based barbecue. It took me awhile to get used to the red sauce here, but now I love ribs and other KC-style barbeque. I don’t like that we are a long drive from the ocean or mountains.
17. What kind of music do you like? Or what is your favorite band? I really like popular Top 40 music played on the radio when I want to dance around my kitchen, but I enjoy listening to Neko Case, Kasey Musgraves, or Bob Schneider for actually “good” music.
18. What is your favorite TV show of all time? Favorite movie? I loved Felicity, a show about a woman in college in New York City. It’s hard to pick just one movie. My favorite childhood movie is probably “The Parent Trap” (original version!). I also really liked “Spy Game.”