I was born on Christmas Eve of 1944, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a rough and tumble industrial town run by the Mafia!!! Needless to say, I learned early how to stand up for myself!! My parents were both in education - my Mom taught junior high school English and my Dad made his way through the ranks, eventually becoming the Superintendent of Schools in Bridgeport. I have two younger brothers, whom I adore, three nieces, and three daughters, twin girls (Sophie and Rachel) who were born to me at age 45, and one other young woman who has become like a daughter (Leah), whose Mom died way too early. 

Since a very young age, I have been passionate about writing, nature, dance, and social justice. These passions have lead me on a rich educational and work life, earning a Bachelor's degree in English in 1966, which included a semester at Howard University in Washington, D.C. as an exchange student in1964; a Master's degree in Social Work in 1972, and a doctoral degree in Social Work in 1990.

During spaces in between these educational pursuits, I was extraordinarily lucky to have had amazing on-the-job learning experiences, that included teaching seventh and eighth grade English in Concord, Massachusetts; wandering into a job during the 1968 presidential campaign at Democratic Headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the Watergate, famously broken into during the 1972 Presidential campaign; followed by a stint at the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., as a research assistant for the health and child development programs; several years at the Chicago Regional Office of what was then DHEW on the Medicaid staff; and then working for several years at the American Medical Student Association Foundation in charge of post-graduate activities, where we zeroed in - with the help of federal funds - on recruiting physicians to rural and urban shortage areas around the United States. 

These jobs have taken me from Connecticut to Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and Chicago. Feeling burnt out by age 33, I took a year off to travel to Europe and Africa, followed by a surprise "test" of relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah, working for four years in the Department of Family and Community Medicine of the University of Utah Medical School, where I was director of the Network of Rural Health programs, and 37 years on the faculty of the College of Social Work where I taught Community Organization, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Clinical Practice, and Writing classes. 

In 2016, I retired from the University of Utah, and my kinship with other women has been central to appreciating the gifts of aging, laughter (mostly at ourselves), travel, and other creative activities. It is a joy to have been associated with the Crones Counsel during the past 12 years and now with helping to launch Crone Awakening Wisdom (CAW), as we pursue new and creative ways to support each other and to explore and share the wisdom that has grown out of our life experiences. A key goal of CAW is not only to share the fruits of our own life experiences, but also to respect and listen carefully to the wisdom of younger women who are coming into and being in adulthood at a particularly challenging time in the history of our country and our planet! Each age has wisdom to share.

One unexpected gift of this age has been to reunite with a man whom I knew 57 years ago when we both were living in the Boston area, a totally unexpected gift to my current almost 80 year old self! It seems it is never too late for surprising adventures, both out in the world and within our innermost selves. I am happy to answer any other questions you might have.