Personal

I'm a native of San Luis Obispo, California, but I haven't lived there since 1992. Since then, I've lived in LA, Heidelberg (Germany), Lausanne (Switzerland), Berkeley, Grenoble (France), Paris (France), Wellington (New Zealand), LA again, and now, Ann Arbor (Michigan). How I ended up in all those places is a long story...

When I'm not doing Political Science or moving somewhere, I love hiking and music. Perhaps surprisingly, LA has some good hiking areas. But nothing tops hiking in NZ (they call it "tramping"). Not only is it beautiful beyond belief, but there's nothing that can kill or maim you. Amazing! My favorite band is Dave Matthews Band, with U2 a close second.

I also like South Park and "The Onion" -- they're certainly social commentary, but mostly they're hilarious. The Daily Show and the Colbert "Repor" rank highly on my list. I'm interested in various aspects of politics, but I generally restrict my written commentary to research ... at least for now. People are often surprised to learn that my "alternate careers" were professional ballerina or diplomat. So far, I'm happy with what I chose...

Rob Salmond has a much cooler website than I do.

Big Sur
Central Coast, California