A LinkedIn executive finds peace, purpose in Tiburon

Laura Parkinson is taking a break from her busy work and home schedule as she sits on a bench on the banks below McKegney Green April 29.

As LinkedIn’s head of brand experience, Parkinson had decided to shut off her laptop after an intense workday to walk and meditate — “very uncharacteristic of me,” she says. She says she’s lucky her employer supports discretionary time off, but it’s a busy time of year, and that makes the work-life balance a little tougher to find.

“The sounds, the smells of the ocean, just the visuals of the blue water … it’s not lost on me,” Parkinson says as she takes in the view. “I feel so fortunate to be able to step away from the computer to this, you know?”

Tiburon reminds Parkinson of her hometown of Hallettsville, Texas, about 120 miles east of San Antonio. She says the town, settled by Czech and German immigrants, features traditional small-town characteristics with everyone knowing everyone, plus rolling hills, cattle and oil drilling.

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