Member Bio

I was born in Colorado then spent my formative years in the vast, barren spaces of Wyoming, the third daughter of a very large family. At the University of Wyoming, I joined a group from my hometown of Buffalo on many rock-climbing adventures, including Devil’s Tower and the Grand Teton, where I really got to know my future husband. I worked my way through college to eventually earn my Geology degree, then worked in Denver as an Exploration Geologist. I turned to business and earned my MBA when the geology industry crashed and we decided against relocating to Houston. We chose life in the mountains of Colorado near several ski areas, welcomed two beautiful children to our world, and moved to Denver. Besides full-time mom, my work included tax preparation, coordinating medical studies, advocating for abused women seeking restraining orders, and homeschooling our daughter. In 2003, we got the opportunity to live and work overseas, starting with 2 years in Bangladesh, then Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, and Singapore. I found I have a knack for completing paperwork, whether for human resources, complicated government reports, or grants administration. After 15 years with the Foreign Service, we moved to Santa Fe in 2017, ready to explore the vast, open spaces in New Mexico that inspire so many artists. I turned my attention to healing this little plot of land we live on, becoming a Master Gardener and volunteering at the Botanical Gardens and other legacy sites around Santa Fe, surprised at how much this area differs from Wyoming and Colorado, though it feels very familiar. I do a lot of designing and digging on my property, determined to put every drop of moisture that falls on our land to use. Thank you, Sandy, for inviting me to join this group in 2018.