Weighing in on North Carolina's Future with White House Officials

Linda Goodliffe ’15, MFA ’17 recently had the distinct privilege to rub elbows with senior White House officials at the “Communities in Action: Building a Better North Carolina,” event in Washington, D.C. Hosted in each state by the Biden administration, the event centered around the benefits and impact of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act for working families in the state of North Carolina.

The half-day forum offered participants the opportunity to speak with senior Biden-Harris Administration officials, as well as representatives from state and local governments.

“It was beyond an honor to be invited,” Goodliffe said. “After speeches from White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff (pictured above), and others, they asked the press to leave. They then opened the discussion up for us to talk about how recent policies have helped our state and what can be done going forward to help even more.”

Goodliffe was able to bring up two issues; the high prices by big restaurant supply stores that are hurting small food businesses and the problem of plastics in the food business

“I believe we should be making all plastics from sustainable materials that are grown, not petroleum,” she said. “Dr. Regan said that when he talks with young people the first question they ask him is about plastics.”

Goodliffe’s decision to join the Navy dates back to her competitive swimming days in high school and college when she competed for the Olympic trials in synchronized swimming, then took on long-distance freestyle. She wanted to be a deep-sea diver at a time when less than 1% of Navy divers were women.

“I was the first woman from my hospital corps school in San Diego to earn her way into the elite Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center,” she explained. “Women have been Navy divers since the 1960s, but I was the first from my school.”

Though Goodliffe wanted to make the Navy a career, things did not go as planned for the New Jersey native. She was injured in dive school and became a disabled veteran at 24.

An accomplished writer, Goodliffe took on teaching roles while also working to be published. However, things took another negative turn as the world faced the challenge of COVID-19.

“When the pandemic hit, I lost both of my teaching jobs, the publishing industry froze, and my mom lost her job as a nurse case manager for workers comp,” she explained. “We realized we had to do something different. Neither of us had gotten where we wanted to go in life by working for other people. We wanted to finally take our destiny into our own hands.”

Refusing to give in, even while many businesses were closing, Goodliffe and her mother shifted to the baking business.

“My family is filled with gifted bakers dating back to ancestors in Germany and Austria, including a bakery in Vienna,” Goodliffe explained. “Women in my family have talked about opening a bakery for as long as I’ve been alive. So, when the pandemic hit, we had a family meeting and decided it was time to start the bakery. We had no idea how we were going to pull it off, but we were going to figure it out as we went along, and so far, we have.”

Mommom’s Bakery opened in December 2020. The Communities in Action event also turned into a win for the business.

“I was thrilled to meet Mayor Vi Lyles. Thanks to her, Mommom’s Bakery may be supplying city events with artisan baked fare,” she said. “I also met the CEO of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and we were able to talk about a possible partnership going forward.”

Though she chose Queens to pursue a degree in English, Goodliffe credits the university for much of her business success. Despite being diagnosed with ADHD by a doctor who discouraged her from majoring in English, Goodliffe graduated Cum Laude with a BA in English. This boosted her confidence in more ways than one.

“I had lost my confidence after many years of being a disabled veteran with a long list of serious struggles, and Queens gave that back to me, and then some,” she said. “The confidence to know what I want to make happen in my life is possible, is the greatest gift.”

Goodliffe also earned an MFA in poetry from Queens. Though she credits several professors for her love of literature, she is most grateful for Morri Creech, a Pulitzer Prize-finalist and writer-in-residence at Queens.

“Though becoming a poet is an impractical thing when it comes to making money, I’ll be grateful for the gift he gave me for the rest of my life,” she said. “I love to say ‘I’m a poet.’ It’s such a short sentence, but it means so much. I’ll always cherish my time at Queens. It’s truly a special place with professors who love to teach, and an administration that wants to do everything for students they can. Another thing that stood out to me was its support for veterans. For me, Queens has meant rebirth and a special connection for life.”