Gwen grew up in a rural area in Michigan's Thumb community.  As a senior in high school, she earned a co-op position in a local bank, where she continued to work through her summer and winter breaks for the next 4 years.  This job gave her experience in customer service and finance.  Even though she enjoyed the time she worked in the accounting department, she looked forward to her hours working as a teller.  Her favorite customers were a car full of local workers who would come through the drive-through every Friday at lunch and threaten to send their ice cream through the canister.  Because she always greeted everyone with a smile and respect, her nick-name became "Sunshine".

In May of 1986, Gwen graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in Business Education, focusing on Accounting, and a minor in Spanish.  From there she taught high school and adult education until moving to Grand Rapids in 1988 to pursue a career with Amway.  Her first position there was providing customer support for a new computer-based accounting system for distributors.  From there she moved to International Accounting.  After several years, Gwen left Amway for an upper management position in a small, private business.

In 1995, she and her husband opened their own restaurant/pizzeria in Wyoming, Michigan.  In order to keep peace at home, Gwen stayed out of the kitchen, focusing on all the accounting responsibilities, and her husband stayed out of her office, keeping his efforts on food creation.  After 9 years, Gwen was feeling isolated and decided to investigate a career in real estate.  She contacted many of her husband's family member who were agents/brokers.  It didn't take much to convice her that she had found the perfect job, combining her love of people and her experience in education and finance.