I was born and raised in the city of Guaynabo just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1985, I moved to Pennsylvania to attend Bucknell University. Through my years at Bucknell, I studied in Eastern Europe, Spain, the former U.S.S.R., and Switzerland. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Spanish with a minor in French and Political Geography.

 
I later moved to Germany, Louisiana and once again back to Puerto Rico. I worked for the Caribbean Hotel Association in the Executive Department while obtaining my M.B.A. in Management.

In 1996, I moved to Virginia and started working for WorldSpace Corporation in Washington, D.C. first assisting the Chairman and CEO, later promoted to Manager of Corporate Travel and finally as Manager of Procurement.

I originally lived in Alexandria, then bought my first home in Virginia in Great Falls and met my husband Charley Faris a native of Virginia. When we married, we moved to Reston and later to Sterling, Virginia. I obtained my real estate license for Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. and after three successful years became a Real Estate Broker.  I am a native Spanish speaker, fully fluent in English and have some knowledge of French, German and Italian.