Secretary
I am originally a Midwesterner, born in Des Moines and eventually graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA and then an MA in Education.
At UNI I was on both the Track and Men’s Gymnastics teams. From there I worked in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Rochester, Minnesota coaching and teaching.
In Rochester, I also hosted a cable TV show twice a week which focused on local events as well as health and safety, in connection with the Mayo Clinic and the YMCA.
After returning to UNI where I taught for two years I accepted a High School teaching and coaching job in Oregon. Since I was teaching History – including AP History, Pre-Columbian History, and Ancient Cultures, I would spend summers traveling to historic sites in order to gather materials, photos, and knowledge to use in class.
As a result, I visited Chaco and pretty much every other site you can name over a period of 20+ years beginning in the 1980s. A chance meeting with Anna Sofaer led to a suggestion that I contact Chaco about volunteering upon retiring. As a lifelong amateur astronomer, I was able to combine my love of both the night sky and southwest history beginning as a volunteer in 2002.
I have spent one to two months each of the past 19 years as a volunteer at Chaco working with the Interpretive Division doing night sky programs, site tours, school presentations, and other events.
I have also done Night Sky or history-related programs at Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cedar Breaks, Curecanti NRA, Red Canyon NRA, and too many state parks, star parties, or similar events to list.
I became a member of the Friends of Chaco Board in 2008 and President of the Board in 2009. As of this year, I am Vice President of the newly formed Board of the Chaco Culture Conservancy. I have lived in Oregon since 1979, and I remain committed to helping Chaco and Aztec in any way I can.