What’s your academic background?
BA in Liberal Studies, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and Preliminary Administrative Services Credential all from California State University Chico. Additionally, I got a Waldorf Teacher Education Diploma from Rudolf Steiner College.
Who inspires you?
My folks. They’ve worked incredibly hard and have made a great life for themselves. It has not been void of challenges, but they persevered and are happy and healthy. They are accomplished in their respective professions, my dad’s a beekeeper and my mother was an elementary teacher for 31 years. Even better than being excellent professionals, they’re really good people; they’re generous, kind, thoughtful, and skilled in a variety of trades. I’m super lucky in the parent department!
What was the best concert you ever attended?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks at the Santa Barbara Bowl was excellent. Most recently, I saw Lord Huron at the Fox Theatre in Oakland and it was an exceptional show, musically and the visual & lighting effects.
Where’s your favorite place in the world?
Donner Lake. It’s in the town of Truckee, which is a super cute little town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. It’s a place my family has been going to, renting cabins and camping, ever since I can remember. Each summer, many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins spend a week together at the lake. My dad built a home for our family at the lake and I absolutely love spending time with my parents, brother, and sister there every summer. The cabin has hosted joyous times with many friends from different walks of life, personal quite respite, and even my 33 4th graders & parent chaperones when we were studying California History and Geography (The Donner Party story was a student favorite) Donner’s waters are a perfect chill after a glorious mountain hike or heating up on the beach with a good book.
If you could be any animal, which would you be?
I would be a dolphin in the summer and a dog in the winter. I absolutely LOVE swimming, so the freedom to glide and jump and sing through tropical waters is enticing. I’d specifically like to be one of my dogs. They are so well-loved and indulged; long winter nights cozy by the fire after some excellent snowy jaunts.
What’s the last book you read?
The Buddha Sat Right Here. My friend Dena Moes is the author. She and her husband took their two daughters out of school for a year and went on a family quest through India in Nepal. I find that to be inspiring. I was extra engaged with the book because I personally know the characters.
What’s your favorite movie?
Best in Show. I think it’s hilarious! It makes it an even more fantastic movie knowing that it was improvised. Their comic timing and improv skills make this one of my favorite movies to quote.
What are you currently watching on Netflix?
The final season of Orange is the New Black.
Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?
Currently, Lizzo. Her voice, dance moves, messages, and self-assuredness inspire me.
If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve never been, where would you go?
Southeast Asia. I would love to take in their cultures, adorn their textiles, explore the backroads on a motorbike, hike the mountain vistas, visit animal sanctuaries and sacred temples, and swim and snorkel in the vibrant waters.
What’s your secret talent that no one knows about?
Well, some people know, mostly children, that I can make some pretty unique trills and whistles and such with my mouth.
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
There are these block crayons that are rainbow, that’s me. A full spectrum of emotions and vibrancy compacted into one thing.
This is probably going to be an unpopular answer, but I don’t know enough about superheroes to have a favorite or least.
