I was born and raised in Kirkland, WA, but spent most of my adult years in Seattle. During my years in college, I spent several months working and traveling in Mexico and Central America. Some of the experiences that have shaped my life were living in jungles, educating on the protection of the sea turtles and environment, and encountering so many diverse people from around the world and learning about their culture. But the scientists I met were the people who influenced me to get my degree in Geology (there are lots of active volcanoes in Central America).

After graduating the University of Washington, I worked in Property Management at the IDX Tower downtown. My husband, Kalen, and I had just exhausted two years remodeling our house ourselves (not recommended) when we decided to quit our unfulfilling jobs and make a break for freedom. We sold everything, bought a 36 ft sailboat, and headed towards an undecided destination South.

Although we had hopes of sailing further, we remained in Baja California for 3 years. One reason, we didn’t want to sail with a baby without an auto pilot, also not recommended, secondly, we had a baby, and third, it doesn’t get any better than the Sea of Cortez. The simplicity of cruising implicates a realm of inconveniences such as, spear fishing for food, lugging your water, groceries and laundry, trying NOT to get stung by sting rays or eaten by squid, and avoiding hurricanes. However, if you’re lucky like we were, you can experience some very meaningful moments like being surrounded by breaching humpbacks or teaching English to children in poverty. There were many days to reflect and decide on what I wanted to do and that was to teach children.

So here I am with a new goal to take me on yet another journey teaching Earth Sciences in high school. I hope to make an impact on kids to become actively conscious of our real world in which we live, conscious of our actions and their consequences. I’m also thinking of working with children having English as their second language, but we’ll see.

As it says in my profile, I love salsa dancing (anything Latin really), music-salsa, cumbia, reggae, and rock, a good road trip, rock hounding, skiing, art, and immersing myself in new places. I believe in just doing what you want to do in order to live life to the fullest. Take risks and get back up when you fall.