I grew up in a small town in southwestern North Dakota -- Badlands country (yee-ha!)-- home to Pres. Teddy Roosevelt, oil, cattle and farms. As the youngest of six, I got quality time with my Mom...and she's the one who nurtured my interest in the sciences. 

I was born in 1957 and one of my fondest early memories is exploring the winding creek behind our house.  It is actually a tributary of the Mouse River and afforded great play adventures for all the neighborhood kids. But for my mom and me, it was a place to share long walks, collecting fallen leaves, investigating tree trunks and animal tracks.  It was a setting for conversations about the world.  We did those walks well into my teen years, until I left home for college.  That inspiration and interest had me on track when I was in the 7th Grade.  That's when I decided I would get a college degree in Forestry.  In the 8th Grade I added Zoology to the list.  I channeled my efforts and studying in high school and took every science course available and it was a good choice.  I attended the University of Montana in Missoula and earned Bachelors of Science degrees in Forestry and Zoology.

My aspirations did not involve wearing logging boots and slogging through acres of timber, however.  Even though I grew up a small town girl I was really a closet big city girl.  I was fortunate to land a career as an "urban forester".  Never heard of that, eh?  Urban Forestry is all about urban tree management and education.  I worked as a City Forester in Jamestown, ND, a consultant with a national tree company in Minneapolis, MN and Reston, VA,, the urban forester for the Department of Natural Resources - State of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis,  and a power company forester in the Seattle area. 

When I moved to California to get married (that's another story!) I worked for the Trust for Public Land in San Francisco.  My husband, Bob, works for Chevron and when our son Max was 9 months old we were transferred to Southern CA.  We lived in Torrance for 5 years before returning to the Bay Area.  We were lucky to find a great house on a great hill in a great school district!  Max and I started at Buena Vista the same year (1997) -- he, as a Kindergartener and me, as the Science Specialist!  Max has since graduated from UC Santa Cruz...so that means I've been here....a long time!

Every day is an adventure and having the privilege of sharing my enthusiasm for science with your children is a joy!