“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ― Mary Oliver
About Me
I was born on August 27, 1979, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and raised in Retreat, an unincorporated community near the Mississippi River, nestled in the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.
My childhood was spent working in tobacco fields, riding horses, and exploring nature, with my well-worn box set of Little House on the Prairie books always within arm’s reach.
After graduating from De Soto High School in 1997, I attended the University of Wisconsin as a first generation college student, earning a B.S. in Human Ecology, with a focus on Community Leadership. I then dedicated a year and a half to rebuilding efforts along the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina—first as an AmeriCorps member in Biloxi, then as a team leader in Bay St. Louis.
In 2008, I returned to Madison, where I spent the next two decades working in the public school system and building a fulfilling life in the city.
The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with upheaval in the U.S., sparked a period of deep soul-searching, leading to a change in direction and a new chapter in my life.
