It all started over a cocktail in October of 2024….. Juls and her boyfriend Bryan were some of the first to express their love and support to Maria and her husband Brian following their son Alexander’s unexpected passing. One of their expressions of support was an evening of cocktails, food, and games. Over happy hour, Maria shared her love for her new ’23 Ford Bronco, aka “Cletus”, and described how she’d enjoyed her introduction to the off-roading community and especially meeting incredible women who created and competed in the Rebelle Rally. Their unique camaraderie was inspiring and a bit intoxicating. As the discussion unfolded (the exact details of the conversation have been lost to time), the notion of us forming a team lived to see the light of day.1/15/25: Maria and Juls attended the first Rebelle Rally ZOOM meeting of the year. Once both of us had all the information, Maria gave Juls the opportunity to change her mind. Again, Juls said yes. Maria said she had already signed up for two of the Rebelle University courses (a 4-day class in April and a 3-day class in June). Juls’ work/life calendar had zero conflicts. We both kept saying, “It feels like we are supposed to be here.” 1/26/25: Maria officially registered the team for the Rally and became ROOKIE SPOT #4 on the waiting list. On the last day of our first 4-day training course at ‘The Roost’ in Ocotillo Wells, Emily Miller and Andrea Bullard gave us the news in person. A spot had opened for us in the Rally! Did we want it? We are looking forward to learning what will come from competing in the Rebelle. It will be difficult, and challenging, and we can’t wait!
Pennzoil, Pirelli
I am the Director, Human Resources for the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. What that means in practical terms is that I work with 450 people that do cutting-edge scientific and engineering research, much of it occurring in extreme field locations all around the world, whether in the air, on land (or ice!), or below the surface of the sea. I am surrounded by exceptionally smart people who do their work at an incredibly high level. These are also some of the down-to-earth people you can meet, and a particular delight of mine in working at the Lab is learning about our researchers’ projects and seeing the instrumentation they create and deploy. I suspect that under different circumstances (i.e., myths like “math is too hard”, and “girls don’t build stuff”), I would have gravitated toward disciplines like those I see around me at work.
Seattle, WA
“The love is where we meet” — Alexander Card
My eye color changes depending on my mood, if I’m not feeling well, and when I cry – from grey to blue-green to olive green to jade green. Also, my hair turned REALLY curly after I had my son.
My little family went through a great deal of difficulty in the last handful of years, so I was already looking for a way to collect all the pieces of myself again. I’d bought my Bronco – a Heritage Edition – because it fits in with the vintage vibe of our early Mustangs, but then discovered that it can take me to beautiful places that you can’t get to in a road car. And that driving offroad is incredibly enjoyable. I started meeting other Bronco owners, and learned about the Rebelle through a few distinctly different channels. Things snowballed from there, and all roads seemed to converge around the Rebelle. I met several Rebelles, and Emily Miller, at a local offroad meet, and was drawn to the sense of humble self-confidence and cultivation of personal growth that permeates Rebelle culture. I knew I was Rebelle-curious as a way to start putting my pieces back together, but wasn’t sure how I’d get there. Then last summer we lost our beautiful boy Alexander in a swimming accident. He’s the most amazing kid, just turned 15, and in an instant – he’s gone. We’d weathered some pretty bad storms, but this is truly the most devastating thing that has ever happened. So maybe it’s a need for a vision quest, or maybe a need to focus intensely and solely on a single really hard challenge, but I knew that I needed the experience of the Rebelle.
I am most inspired by people who can show kindness and compassion, and do so even when they have nothing to gain from it.
My favorites change regularly – but some of the high-water mark selections are: The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman; Dead Wake: The Last Crossing by Erik Larson; and Abbott Elementary (NBC). Yellowstone (Paramount) is in there as well.
It may sound trite, but life is our greatest adventure. It is unpredictable, it is devastating, it is beautiful, sometimes all at the same time – and you do not know how much you will get.
The best way to describe this is that I’m really in two rallies: one is an offroad competition that lasts eight days; the other is a journey to learn how to play this awful hand I’ve been dealt, that will take the rest of my life. Both rallies are deeply challenging, yet there is a way to thrive. You go through a lot to find it, but it is possible. I think both experiences require you to get to your very core, to find your resilience, adaptability, courage, and confidence, and also to reevaluate what is truly important. In the Rebelle, my goals are for each of my team of three (remembering to include myself!) to make our best effort and find fun each day (even if all we can eke out is finding humor in our mistakes!), and get back to basecamp each night. In my personal rally, my goals are to prove to myself that I can do hard things, and to make my beautiful boy proud of his mama.
My family – my husband and our beautiful son – are my greatest passion, hands-down. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t interested in vehicles. Beyond that, I knit and read almost constantly. I listen a wide and eclectic range of music. I love comedy, from unrefined to sophisticated. And I LOVE my hometown pro hockey team, the Seattle Kraken. As a family, we attend games both as fans, and as volunteers for the One Roof Foundation. Both are incredibly fun experiences.
Nothing I’ve done to date informs how to approach a competition like the Rebelle! I’ve dabbled in performance driving of stock road cars, and had started getting curious about drag cars just before we started our family.
Once upon a time, I spent quite a bit of time learning Argentine Tango. I traveled to Buenos Aires twice to study. At its height, I danced in local tango social clubs at least five nights each week!
So many memories… cars have always been a huge part of my life… I grew up Chevy, but have always driven Ford… my mom dropping me off on the first day of kindergarten in her ’64 Corvette Stingray, being in the garage with my dad from the time I was able to hold the trouble light without shining it in his eyes (and being especially helpful when the socket or bolt or whatever other small thing dropped to the floor). Restoring my ’67 Mustang coupe, showing it, and meeting my husband (who has his own restored ’66 Mustang GT couple) at the annual International Mustang Meet that is now our family reunion. Getting married at Carroll Shelby’s museum in Las Vegas. Bringing our newborn son home from the hospital in my husband’s ’06 Mustang GT convertible. Dropping our son off at school in my ’92 Mustang GT convertible. Thousands and thousands of miles of road trips across the western US and throughout Canada.
My title is Financial Advisor Managing Director at Ameriprise Financial. The Formo Carter Investment Group is the name of my team. I have been an advisor for 21 years. I changed my career at the age of 34. I became an advisor to work with young people and women. I want to create millionaires. Saving and investing should be FUN! I thoroughly enjoy educating people on the habits of successful saving and investing. You do not have to be good at math! The more education you have, the more confident you will be. I believe that every investor should have a financial plan. I consider this to be their money map. Without a plan, we cannot track progress and won't know if we are behind or ahead of goal. We need to define what you want to accomplish, when you want to retire, and how you want to live, before we can determine the appropriate saving and investment plan to get you there. The plan will change and be revised as life happens, but it's crucial to get the first plan of action in place!
Kent, WA
I earned a bachelor's degree of communications from Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
I am a dedicated Pokémon GO player. My trainer name is DanzingQeeen and I've been playing since 2017. My daughter began playing when she was 9, so my boyfriend and I began playing to join her. When she became a teenager, she lost interest, but we never stopped! We got my dad and Bryan's parents addicted. We've traveled to NYC and Las Vegas to participate in the global events. We've made Pokémon friends all around the world. I even made a new friend at one of the Rebelle U training courses. Next stop, to participate in one of the global events in JAPAN!
It all started over a cocktail in October of 2024..... My friends (and clients), Maria and Brian Card had lost their son Alexander in August of 2024. Alexander had just turned 15 and died in a swimming accident. Alexander was their only child. Complete devastation. Our hearts were broken for them/with them. My Bryan and I invited Maria and her Brian over for some fun: cocktails, delicious food, and games. While sipping on cocktails, Maria began sharing stories of her new '23 Ford Bronco, aka "Cletus", learning to drive off road, and meeting incredible women who created a competition called the Rebelle Rally. Maria shared that the teams who chose to compete, consisted of a Driver and a Navigator. I'm not 100% sure of the conversation, but I remember it like this, "maybe you'd consider doing this competition with me and being my navigator as you are good with math". Without hesitation, I said yes! I wanted to do anything for Maria and with Maria that might help her get through each day and live with the loss of Alexander. On 1/15/25, Maria sent me a text and asked if I'd be available to attend a ZOOM meeting that night. The first Rebelle Rally ZOOM meeting of the year. I was available! OH MY GOODNESS. MY EYES WERE SO BIG. MY MOUTH WAS WIDE OPEN. What in the hell have I gotten myself into?! I literally said out loud to my Bryan, "I'm going to die". I had thought the competition was a weekend thing... nope, it's 10 days! We have to sleep in a tent each night?! I don't camp or own any camping gear. NO GPS? We need to learn how to plot coordinates on a map?! It costs $15,600 per team to register?! That's more than a maximum Roth IRA contribution! After the initial shock wore off, I was completely intrigued. Maria and I had a phone call on 1/26/25. Maria said she had already signed up for two Rebelle University courses (4-day class in April and a 3-day class in June). I checked my calendar to see if I could attend, and to my surprise, I had no conflicts. Once we both had more information, Maria gave me the opportunity to change my mind and again, I said YES! We both kept saying, "It feels like we are supposed to be here." Maria took the next step and got us registered to find out there was a waiting list! We were ROOKIE SPOT #4. Wow. Maybe we wouldn't get to compete this year. This felt a little heartbreaking, but okay... more time to train. On the last day of our 4-day training course at 'The Roost' in Ocotillo Wells, Emily Miller and Andrea Bullard gave us the news in person.... A SPOT HAD OPENED UP! DID WE WANT IT? Maria and I gave our official YES and made our payments on our drive back to Seattle. Team #135! Rebelle Rally, here we come!!!
People facing incredible challenges who push through each day with a positive attitude (Military Veterans who are permanently injured or have lost a limb, parent/s who have lost a child, anyone fighting cancer or other terminal illnesses, just to name a few).
Favorite Book: Atlas Shrugged
Favorite Movie: Pride and Prejudice (2005 version with Keira Knightley)
Favorite Series: True Detective (1st season), Downton Abbey and The Crown
When I think of adventure, I think of NEW experiences that can be enjoyable, exhilarating, scary, risky, requiring every ounce of courage you have, being out of your comfort zone, big sacrifices without any guarantees of compensation, and typically life changing. Motherhood is that for me. I did not think I would be a good mom. I was so scared. What a HUGE responsibility. Thinking about being a parent was completely overwhelming. I'm so thankful I was brave enough to go for it!!! I've loved every minute of it. The intensity of it all. The love you experience is like NO OTHER. What a gift! What a roller coaster ride! My GREATEST adventure. Training for this Rebelle Rally comes in at #2!!! I've done more new, uncomfortable, exhilarating, and challenging things in the last 6-months than in the last 6 years of my life :-)
To have FUN while being completely out of my comfort zone. To test the knowledge and new skills I've learned over the past 6-months. To remain calm and be able to problem solve during incredibly stressful situations. To laugh and cry with my friend Maria. To nail at least 1 black check point each day. To explore the world.
In another life I was a professional dancer! I LOVE TO DANCE! I had zero formal training until one of my best girlfriends asked me to join her adult jazz dance class in 2016 (age 35). I auditioned and they accepted me! It's incredibly satisfying to practice a routine over, and over, and over again to 'nail a performance' as a team/group! I love to exercise. My favorite workouts are Bikram's hot yoga (traditional 1.5 hour class in 105-degree temperature) and aerobics classes. I own LOTS of workout videos (Jillian Michaels is a fav). My mom (age 78) is my workout partner. We aim to workout 5x per week in my mom's house in her bonus room. It's awesome to see her do planks!
I have zero experience in motorsports. The Rebelle requires SO MANY SKILLS that I did not have. I have been training since March 2025 to prepare myself, as best I can, for this totally unique and awesome competition.
This might be more appropriate to share in the 'fun fact' section, but it's not actually a FUN fact, more of an interesting fact about myself that has led me to have some very cool experiences. As I've gotten older, I've developed an extreme/irrational fear of heights. I can have all the symptoms: dizziness, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, panic, sweating, etc. I like to push myself through the fear, mind over body. I have taken 4 helicopter rides: flew over Maui, the Grand Canyon, Alaska glaciers, and Manhattan (with doors open and hands and legs hanging out). I have also done the Skyjump off the STAT in Las Vegas.
My first car was a 1966 Ford Mustang (metallic baby blue). My dad bought this car for me. It had all kinds of issues, and could be a challenge to drive, but I loved it. I will own another one in my future!
