I am originally from southeast Missouri, but spent a few years of my childhood in Marceline, Missouri a trait I share with Walt Disney. My family still lives in Sainte Genveive, Missouri (the oldest town west of the Mississippi River) and the surrounding area near the beautiful Ozarks.

I went to Southeast Missouri State University from 1995-1999 and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication (with a Public Communication emphasis) after dropping my Speech & Theatre Secondary Education major when I discovered my passion for higher education. I learned about higher education through my involvement as a community assistant, a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary, a student government, and also worked in the university center and as a Presidential Ambassador. I completed a summer internship in conference services at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.

I pursued this passion at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where I received a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel in 2001. There I held graduate assistantships in residence life at Oberlin College and parent & family programs at BGSU. Most importantly, I met my partner Michael who was a graduate student in Popular Culture Studies.

After grad school, we moved to Toledo, Ohio where I managed a first-year living-learning community at the University of Toledo. I then found a great job at the University of Michigan as coordinator of new student orientation and welcome programs and we moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2003. We have since purchased a house in nearby Pittsfield Township and I have been promoted to Assistant Director of New Student Programs. We have two cats, Lily and Otis.

On my website you can learn more about some of my hobbies, but I also enjoy camping, kayaking, swimming, sewing, and crafts.