Q: What is the most important room in your home? A: I have ranked the rooms in my house and have determined the Spare Room to be the most important – allows us to have guests, gives me a dedicated space to work from home, and the light is always lovely in here.
Q: What is the best gift you have been given? A: For my first kid’s first birthday, I asked people to send me stories about my mum, who’d died four years earlier, so I could make a scrapbook of sorts for my baby to know her Granny. Those stories from her friends, from my friends, from my brothers’ friends, from relatives, from neighbors and members of our community – essentially a 360 view of my mother – those stories were, and continue to be, a cherished gift.
Q: If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be? A: There are a few items of clothing that I would really like to have back. I’m currently coveting a light plaid Eddie Bauer zip-up cotton hoodie I had in my early twenties. I think that might be a small enough change to not disrupt the timeline too much.
From a very early age, Lees knew she was destined to be Chief of Staff.
Q: What did you want to be when you were small? A: I’ve always been fascinated by office jobs (my parents didn’t have those), I wanted to be a teacher, an actor, or a writer.
Q: What’s your favorite family tradition? A: Well, because I find it absurd and that delights me, it’s our annual family pilgrimage to the Leaning Tower of Niles (a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa located in a parking lot between a YMCA & a Costco). There’s nothing to do there but attempt to convince your small children to pause running in circles long enough for a photo but for the past four years we’ve made the visit a priority during the chaos of December.
Q: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? A: “Must be fed regularly.” (Pretty sure there’s a picture of me next to the word “hangry” in the dictionary. Shout out to Ellen Micotto for keeping the office snacks abundant.)
Q: What’s the most fun you’ve had this week? A: Watching my six-year-old teach herself how to ride a bike was pretty cool. And, it got me out of a jam. I was not looking forward to the task of teaching her myself.
Q: What’s the last movie you went to see? A: None other than the cinematic masterpiece Kung Fu Panda 4.
Q: What childhood activity do you wish you could still do now? A: Twirling with abandon. Or pretty much anything that requires the equilibrium of my youth.
Q: Would you rather explore a new planet or the deepest parts of the ocean and why? A: Hmm, neither? I guess a new planet, if I must. My terror of the vacuum of space is perhaps a little lower than my terror of being under miles of water.