A Mother's Work-Life Balance

written by Andes Hruby | photos by Troy Wayryen

Age: 46
Born: The Netherlands
Residence: Portland
Career: Director of Marketing Operations – Strategic Projects, adidas

Tiffiney Williams looks like a ballerina wrapped inside a basketball point guard. She is a modern day juggler whose life is enviable; she has it all. A prodigious career with adidas, two beautiful daughters, a husband with a British accent and legs like a supermodel.

Williams has worked for adidas for fifteen years, a feat of continuity not many Americans can accomplish. Her arrival to a sports label came after some soul searching. The young version of Williams pedaled nicotine across Alaska. She worked a marketing job with a van piled high with cigarettes and paraphernalia. “It was true irony. I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life, but when you are young, you just need a job. With experience, you can start looking at what and whom you represent. My work had to be closer to my core values.”

Her job as strategic director challenges how to integrate the athletic brand with new views on mindfulness. Williams knows firsthand the importance of mindfulness when it comes to the work-life balance. Once an obsessive runner, she decided to find more in fitness than miles after her second child. She turned to yoga and ballet barre classes, integrating a new level of awareness and mindful integration, which in turn informs her work world. She walks the walk.

Workout

Running:
Three times a week, with varied intensity (depending on family demands)
Two gentle runs for 40 minutes (up the mileage when training for a race)
One fast and furious run for 15 minutes (on my way to a farmers’ market and back)

Yoga:
Varied vinyasa practice two times a week

Ballet Barre:
Rise and shine two times a week for morning class

Hiking or Skiing:
Weekends with the family (depending on the season)

Nutrition

Grass-fed beef, organic chicken, tofu and all sorts of beans, salads, and sprouts; homemade granola junkie Indulgence: any red grape Comfort food: dark chocolate covered almonds