My passions are travel and photography. Fortunately I have been able to combine both of them. As a child I was immersed in different cultures. Photography has always been a part of that life. When I was seven or eight I got my first camera at the post exchange in Athens, Greece. I have been traveling the world recording my impressions ever since. Santa Fe Workshops with Raul Touzon, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute with Robert Renfrow are all experiences which have shaped my vision. Four years of figure drawing and painting at the Tucson Museum of Art with Susan Kay Johnson has taken my photography to a higher level.
In addition, I am a volunteer in Licensing and Reproduction Rights at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. My work is on exhibit at Solar Culture and Blue Raven Gallery in Tucson. As an active member of Club Camera Tucson I have won a number of photographic competitions.
My previous career as an educator culminated with my position as a successful reading coach, working with teachers to improve their classroom instruction. As a teacher consultant for the Arizona Geographic Alliance based at Arizona State University I have also been involved in professional development for teachers in the field of geography. In the mid-1990s I was involved with creating a place based environmental education program for teachers and students with a focus on the Santa Cruz River watershed. Funding from the Health Resources Services Administration allowed me to create a professional program for educators, in partnership with Tumacacori National Historical Park, Arizona Project WET, and many state and local agencies. Over a five year period this program impacted over 3,000 students, 50 educators, park docents, community health educators, university professors, state agency personnel, among others. I received a distinguished teaching award from the National Council for Geographic Education and was recognized by Nogales Unified School District school board, Arizona Superintendent of Public Schools, and the Arizona Association for Environmental Education.
I currently serve as a board member of the Friends of the Santa Cruz River, the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance, and the Tucson chapter of the National Space Society.