Biography

I moved with my husband to Eugene, Oregon, from Los Angles, California, in 2000 and we started a small sheep farm with a flock of Romney ewes and a llama named Chloe. Our farm became home to several generations of goats, cows, turkeys, chickens, and geese along with our dogs and cats. We were welcomed into the independent republic of Eugene, which is well-known for its resident artists, gifted intellectuals, flower children, and conservationists. While my husband raised animals, I put my sewing and design skills from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising to use when I opened a small business teaching children's sewing lessons. My students ranged in age from five to sixteen years old and I built a curriculum to inspire their creativity, develop their independent skills, and foster an appreciation for a disappearing craft.

After six successful years, I closed my sewing business and entered graduate school at the University of Oregon in the English Department. At the suggestion of my mentor, Professor Kathleen Karlyn, I enrolled in my first film history class, and after only an hour, I knew that cinema studies would be my path. In 2011, I began writing film reviews for Oregon Family Magazine and I specialized in children and family films currently in theatres and as new-release DVDs. In the School of Journalism at the University of Oregon, I had the privilege of collaborating on a documentary film with a group of non-traditional students like myself. Our film, Gymnasium of the Mind, was about scholastic chess tournaments in Oregon and was nominated for a Northwest Emmy. The film was then aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting in 2013 as part of their annual Student Film Festival. To stay involved with art, design, and children, I volunteer as an assistant teacher at the Maude Kerns Art Center.