Behind-the-scenes

This website represents my life's work. It would not be complete without some behind-the-scenes footage of me with my family. 

For decades, we lived out of suitcases while I led global infrastructure programs from Paris, Mexico, and Singapore. My work carried us across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. We had two main suitcases and two "on the road" bags... and our little yorkie, Fia - whom we bought in a pet store along the Seine in Paris. 

Those years were filled with adventures: delays, band-aids, translators, and the three of us huddled around our laptops praying to the internet gods for good signal. Somewhere between refurbished Garmin GPS units, satellite phones that never quite worked in the jungle, and homework we couldn't upload until we got back to town, we made a life of movement, adaptation, and shared purpose. 

We crossed borders, built routines in unfamiliar places, and learned how to create community wherever we were. We also discovered that our "tribe" wasn't located in a single country. They were those intrepred spirits we met along the way. 

My children grew up surrounded by museums, laboratories, historic institutions, construction sites, and cultures that not only influenced our thinking about the world, but also how we perceived our place in it. 

The professional record only tells one part of the story. My memoirs tell the most meaningful stories that happened during those travels: what it was like to be absent from friends and family for long durations, how we navigated constant transitions, what seemed like endless flight delays, a couple flat tires, a broken-down rental car,  silly things that happen when you don't speak the local language, the countless times we got lost, the day I chased down a computer thief in Barcelona, the day we joined in a civic protest so we could get to our hotel, and the willingness of my family to build a life around the work I'm so passionate about delivering. 

Installing critical infrastructure around the globe demanded much of all of us. I could not tell this story without some of these highlights. My family's presence, patience, and joie de vivre is what made this work possible. 

-Dr. Sophy M. Laughing