Meet Terri Ogden, Director of Client Services

1. Tell us about the most unfortunate fashion choice you now regret making. A pic will earn you double points. (The points, it should be noted, can be accrued and used toward an imaginary gift of your choosing. Expires yesterday. Cannot be combined with any other imaginary offer. Restrictions apply.)

First off, I want my imaginary gift and I don’t care if the imaginary offer expired yesterday. You dangle something like that in front of me and then take it back, not cool.

Back to the question: unfortunate fashion choices. Can I just say the late ‘80s and early ‘90s? You know, high school. We all (except maybe Edward) made some choices in high school we regret. (Editor’s note: Rumor has it that at one point in his early years, Edward had a PERM, so yeah. Thinking he would disagree.) Seriously, so many bad fashion choices I made, especially with my hair. So you know how I have naturally wavy/curly hair? Back in high school, the wave was there but not like it is today, so I decided to get a spiral perm — more like a series of spiral perms. Because in the ‘80s, just like Texas, bigger was better – bangs shellacked sky-high with hairspray (Rave pump spray and Aussie Scrunch spray were my weapons of choice); but the look wasn’t complete without the side wings sprayed out. I started perming the summer before my sophomore year and didn’t stop until my senior year. I had some bad haircuts and hair accessories, too. And unfortunately, I have the pictures to prove it and I feel compelled to share them with you.

2. With which superhero do you most identify, and why?

Does Elastigirl from The Incredibles count? As her “official” bio states on the Disney site, Helen Parr — aka Elastigirl — is “a resourceful and dexterous superhero.” She’s kick-ass, IMHO. Seriously, she’s the ultimate multi-tasker —  a mom who can take care of her kids, home and relationships while saving the world at the same time. While I might not be saving the world, I can relate with having to multi-task with taking care of my kids, home, animals, husband and doing my job here at EG and making sure we’re serving our clients well. No small feat. Sometimes I feel stretched like Elastigirl, but in the end, we both go back to being our normal selves and pulled together.

3. Speaking of unfortunate fashion choices and superheroes, why do you choose to work with Team Estipona?

Are we just going to gloss over the whole “cyber stalking” thing I did? (I do seem to answer questions with questions, a lot, in case you didn’t notice. I also tend to overuse commas).

I “choose” to work with Team EG because I get to work with both great clients and some pretty awesome co-workers. I think we do great work and am proud to be associated with it. I also like the flexibility of working from home, yet I seem to work a lot from my car (in between meetings) and coffee shops. I’m getting pretty good at knowing where to find good, free wi-fi around Reno-Sparks.

Team Estipona fits my multi-tasking personality. And even though we may work “remotely,” we still work as a team – sometimes in the same room or via video chat or messaging. It also warms the cockles of my heart when I am working late-night, free of interruption and I can see on our internal messaging app that I’m not the only one up and working (I think YOU know who I’m talking about — ahem-Mikalee Byerman) and can collaborate despite it being midnight.

4. Would you rather: Re-live the day you gave birth to your first child on an endless, Groundhog-Day-style loop for 1 year straight, or be forced to watch your favorite sports team surprisingly lose a game every day for the rest of your life?

Good Lord, where do you come up with these questions? You know I love both my child (even the second born) and sports (The Ohio State Buckeyes Football, Nevada Wolf Pack, the SF Giants and the 49ers are my teams). It would SUCK having to watch the Buckeyes lose to Michigan every day for the rest of my life — that would be serious torture. And really, reliving the day I gave birth to my first child ala Groundhog Day style wouldn’t be that bad. I did have some good drugs thanks to the anesthesiologist, and my labor wasn’t that long. Plus it is truly a life changing moment for the better. Why not relive it? Would that mean I would be 29 again, too?

5. What’s your pet charitable cause, and why?

Do I have to pick just one? (See, another question). It is like asking me which of my two children is my favorite child, totally not fair. You know that I have two charitable causes near and dear to my heart (literally): Donate Life and the American Heart Association are my TWO “pet” charities.

I have been a Donate Life Ambassador for the past seven years. I became involved with Donate Life in 2010 after my eldest sister Sue received a heart transplant. I worked with Lifeline of Ohio for three years educating and promoting organ, eye and tissue donation. My favorite volunteer job was as the mascot handler for Lifeline of Ohio’s mascot “HoneyBee” (tagline: “Honey, ‘bee’ an organ donor”). I would hand out stickers and cards to kids and adults at events about organ donation. Because I also owned a convertible at the time, I also drove Honey-Bee in parades. Since moving back to Nevada in late 2013, I have continued as a Donate Life Ambassador with Donor Network West. You may have seen me recently at The Great Reno Balloon Race working the tent there encouraging others to say yes to organ, eye and tissue donation. Did you know that your organs and eyes could save up to eight people, and that your tissues increase that number to 75? My motto is, “Why take it all with you when you’re gone?” You’re not going to need it so why not help someone else?

I also support the American Heart Association. Again, my sister Sue worked with them on educating women about heart disease and stroke – which happens to be the No. 1 killer of women. She was honored at the annual Go Red for Women event in northern Nevada in 2011. But life had other plans for her, and was again honored in 2013 in-memoriam. My sister Leesa picked up where Sue left off and started a team in 2012 for Heart & Stroke Walk/5K run called “Sue’s Sole Sisters.” I joined the team in 2014. But this past year, I increased my involvement and became part of the walk’s Passion Committee (volunteer committee) that helps organize the event (there is a lot of planning and work for an event that size). We just had the walk on Sunday, Sept. 17, and our team raised more than $10,000; overall, the AHA raised more than $265,000. Again, I just want to raise awareness, research and cure for heart disease.