Literary Writing

A writer since childhood, I received a BA in creative writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MFA in poetry from Seattle Pacific University. I’m grateful to my parents and teachers for instilling in me a deep love for story, song, language, and most of all– books. This passion for literature and the writing process is in my bones, and I’ve been honored to share it as an educator.

I’ve facilitated writing workshops with Write Around Portland, and led creative writing courses for young writers with Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program and Show:Tell: The Workshop for Teen Writers.

In 2014, I co-edited and published Winged: New Writing on Bees, an anthology collecting modern poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from 36 writers on the relationship between humans and honeybees. The project received partial funding from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and the first edition of 500 sold out within one year, with proceeds benefiting pollinator conservation and education programs.

My poetry and essays explore creativity, education, faith, parenting, and sustainability.

My poems have been published in some of my favorite journals like basalt, Catamaran Literary Reader, The Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art, Ruminate, and Water~Stone Review. My essays have recently appeared on Hip Mama, Mothers Always Write, and Coffee + Crumbs.

Please see my Writing page for a full list of recent publications and a link to my portfolio.

Grant Writing

Building on my experience as an educator, writer, and community volunteer for various non-profits, I prepare grant proposals for non-profits in the arts and education.

After writing a handful of successful grant proposals for non-profits, community projects, and personal projects over the past several years, I finally recognized an opportunity to join my talents with my deep desire to serve others.

I love serving my community by preparing effective proposals for organizations doing the good work our world so desperately needs. Using my skill for compression and dynamic language, honed over a lifetime of study as a poet, I write applications that connect organizations with funders.

I am a member of the Grant Professionals Association at the local and national levels, and have served as a community volunteer for local grant selection committees.

Personal

Made it this far and still want to know more??

My curiosity has led me on all kinds of adventures. I’ve backpacked in the Sierras and Alps, taught English language learners at home and abroad, tended community gardens, spent a year apprenticing and working on small farms, hosted visiting writers at an independent bookstore, and run the Honolulu marathon. I’m so grateful for the wide range of experience God has given me by planting a restless spirit within me.

I love to grow food and flowers wherever I live, even if all I’ve got is a small window box. I read a lot, love getting outdoors to hike and explore, and will stay in any clean and relatively warm body of water until my fingers pucker.

I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, a talented blacksmith and amazing daddy, my daughter, and brand new baby boy. They are the loves of my life.