My husband John and I moved to California over 30 years ago. Though we moved to California from Chicago where we had attended college, we both had grown up in the eastern US, including Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Virginia. I studied Communication Science and at the beginning of my career, worked as a speech and language pathologist in a birth-to-three program, rehab hospitals, public schools, and private clinics.
When we moved to California, I was hired by West Valley College to work in a program for students with disabilities (the Disability and Educational Support Program), specifically a transition program for students who had experienced traumatic brain injury. Fast forward 30+ years, and I am now retired as of June 2022, after spending the last 12 years as director of the program. I took on other roles at the college along the way, including chair of a subcommittee of the college’s “Antiracism and Inclusion Action Plan.” Its goal was to create an antiracist environment where all students could experience a sense of belonging and achieve their educational goals.
My husband is an architect with his own business which primarily provides architectural services to religious communities and non-profit institutions. We have a daughter who lives in the East Bay.
I grew up in the EpiscopaI church and came to St. Mark’s about 12 years ago, following my two close friends, Anna and April, who had already made the transition to St. Mark’s from St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Mountain View. At St. Tim’s, I was a Godly Play teacher, participated in youth group activities, and lead a “Covenant Group,” a small group that met weekly to discuss the week’s scriptures and our take-aways. I took some time before serving at St. Mark’s. Then, I began to get involved in small ways: cooking dinners for Hotel de Zink, delivering meals to fellow parishioners, helping with flower arrangements for Sunday services, attending All Parish and Women’s retreats, and participating in parish work days. A favorite early memory is Buffy teaching me how to prune rose bushes. More recently, I have taken on the role of Flower Guild chair, and I am a member of the Becoming Beloved Community task force after completing the year-long Sacred Ground program. I co-led the 2022 Lenten Sacred Ground series.
My intentions as I look forward to serving on the St. Mark’s Vestry are to give thoughtful consideration to decisions the Vestry is asked to make, and to be a collaborator, a respectful listener, and a diligent vestry member to support a healthy St. Mark’s community.