CoLab Orlando Member Spotlight: Windy McCarty of LifeShare Management Group, Inc.
Downtown coworking space gives Windy a chance to interact with members of other professions
Windy McCarty enjoys her job. She’s director of LifeShare Management Group, Inc., a New Hampshire-based agency that provides residential support, respite services, vocation rehabilitation and other services to people with disabilities.
Windy McCarty is director of LifeShare Management Group and one of our awesome CoLab members.
She also loves CoLab Orlando and her corner office here. It’s cozy, she says, and has a great view of the Orange County Regional History Center. She enjoys the camaraderie and interaction she has with other members.
“I’m here a lot so it’s like my second home,” she says.
Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been working with LifeShare Management Group, Inc. for about 3 ½ years. Our whole mission is to help people have as much independence and freedom as possible. We try to help get people out of institutions and get them into the community.
How did you get interested in this field of work?
I always told myself that if I was going to work 9 to 5, I wanted to do something where I was going to help people. I studied psychology in school and saw an ad for a job at LifeShare.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
Moving individuals into the homes of their new families — they’re coming out of group homes or institutions. To see them really happy and given a choice they’ve never had before is really neat to experience.
How did you hear about CoLab?
Windy McCarty's office
I was actually in a different building with kind of the same model as CoLab, but not as fun and interactive. I looked online and saw CoLab and thought, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is exactly what we’re looking for.’
How long have you been at CoLab?
It’s been a year this month.
What’s the CoLab community like?
It’s super friendly and everyone is open to meeting new people. There are always fun activities here and we get together for lunches. I like that about CoLab.
What’s your favorite part about working downtown?
We’re right in the heart of downtown Orlando, so it’s nice to be in the middle of everything. I like that the most.
What makes being involved with CoLab so great?
You get to meet a lot of different people that are doing different things. It’s really neat to interact with people that I ordinarily wouldn’t. Our company is so small — I don’t have a lot of people in and out of the office, so I keep my door open and people stop by and chat. It’s really nice.