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Profession/business: Founder and owner of the Be with Me Playseum in Bethesda. "Once I became a full-time, stay-at-home mom [about four years ago], I realized there were few places where I, as a mom, could go in the D.C. area with my child and leave feeling good about my parenting. ... I began to dream of a warm, welcoming place where parents, nannies and children could come, create and relate with one another and experience the love that family, play and books offer. I envisioned a place that had no gimmicks, nor memberships; a place that was cheap enough that those who have more than two children could easily afford. As a mother of four, having worked out of the home, in the home and at times stayed at home, I can relate to the Bethesda mom. I have been working directly with children and art since 1998 by directing summer camps, after-school care, community events, Sunday school programs for churches and kids' global outreaches."

Age: 39.

Residence: Bethesda.

Family: Married for 15 years with three daughters, Nisha, 14, Ianna, 10, and Ashlen, 8; and one son, Andrew, 6.

Hobbies: "That is a hard one. I usually do not have much time for a hobby, except I love dancing, yard work [and] doing arts and crafts with my children."

Last book read: "Let's see, ‘Pinkalicious' by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann, since that is a favorite one at the Playseum for story time. On my own time, ‘Living Waters' by Brother Yun, or ‘If you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat' by John Ortberg.'"

Last movie seen: "‘The Ultimate Gift' on DVD with my kids. Wow — awesome movie that I had wanted to see on the big screen."

Next vacation spot: "I hope Alaska, since my sister with her three little ones is being transferred there with the Coast Guard. For pure enjoyment, I would pick the Mauritius Islands!"

Latest accomplishment: "Definitely building this Playseum. This dream began in 2007 on a piece of paper. Each day it continued to grow on countless napkins as my kids and I would sit around in Starbucks and Panera and dream together. Their input and drawings of what they envisioned, along with multiple trips to children's museums up and down the East Coast, bookstores, thrift shops and estate sales, prayer and a lot of patience helped birth a new kind of place for children and parents alike. To believe that one year ago we were wondering if we would even have enough money to start boggles my mind at times, where today we are bustling with activity each day, selling books, decorating cupcakes in the bakery, painting ceramics in the art studio, teaching kids about animal care in our pet shop and laughing together during story times. Here we are in 2010: Three years later the dream has become a reality."

How she keeps fresh ideas coming: "Being at the Playseum daily interacting with children keeps my mind spinning with new ideas. I do go weekly to places like Home Depot, estate sales, thrift stores and craft stores to find that perfect item to turn into a unique activity or use for a fun story time. I wish I had time to implement half of the ideas that I write down."

Quote: "One of my big quotes in the Playseum is this is a place ‘Made by kids for kids' and ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world' — Mohandas Gandhi."