Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Midland, Michigan in a hospital where deer browsed outside my mom’s room. I was raised in the Ithaca, New York area. Growing up my dad used to take us hiking in the Adirondacks. I got hooked on the outdoors and hiking mountains in spite of the black flies.
What is your educational background?
I followed my sister to the University of Vermont. I got a BS in Forestry, worked for a year in forest inventory in northern Vermont and New Hampshire, and then went back to school and got an MS in Natural Resources from Cornell University.
Briefly describe your home life.
I live on a six-acre wooded parcel on the edge of a small village. I raise Christmas trees, tap maple trees, help the village with its street trees, and help local landowners manage their woods. I have 7 grown children, one of whom is adopted from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I like hiking, biking, and canoeing. I have visited Nicaragua and Tanzania to help build churches and homes for pastors.
How long have you worked for WAC and what office do you work from?
I’ve been with WAC since 2008. I’m a Watershed Forester working out of our Hamden office.
What is your job at WAC? Briefly describe your typical day.
I oversee loggers to help control erosion and sedimentation. I work with landowners to check out projects we cost share (tree planting, fruit tree pruning for wildlife, thinning a woods to improve growth, etc.). I also oversee harvests on eased properties to ensure they meet water quality requirements.
What are your favorite MWL Interests?
I like the Beauty and Scenery Interest area.
What are your favorite MWL Activities?
I especially like the Activity “Listen to the Sounds of My Woodlot at Dusk” and in general seeing the sights of a woods/field/pond at dusk. I call it “listening to the silence.” I hear the wind moving through the geese wings as they land on a pond. Or I see ducks silhouetted against the darkening sky as they wing their way toward a rest spot. The leaves rustle in an aspen tree nearby with an ever so slight breeze. The clouds in the sky turn from yellow to orange and then deepen into shades of red, purple, and finally black, and I sit and ponder the silence around me.
Describe your favorite experience in the woods.
One of my favorite experiences in the woods is when I’m leading a group on a woods walk and someone in the group gets awed by something they discover: a little spring peeper, a flying squirrel gliding down, or a massive shelf fungus on a tree.
