I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and have pleasant memories of Mill Creek Park and the small woods behind my back yard (except for my encounters with the poison ivy). I think it was my fondness of the outdoors and my fascination with biology that set me on my current course. I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2005, and immediately fell in love with the geography.

Nature has always been a place of inspiration, beauty, contemplation, healing, and exploration for me. I love the natural world, and hiking is one of my favorite pastimes. I have an AAS in Environmental Horticulture from Lake Washington Institute of Technology, and in the last decade I've worked in wholesale and retail nurseries, in addition to landscape maintenance, fine gardening, and growing my own food crops. For health reasons I've had to gradually move away from those labor-intensive jobs, and now I focus my time on art and volunteering for a kids summer camp.

While botany is my main interest, I want to learn as much as possible about all Pacific Northwest wildlife. I love going on nerdy forest hikes and discovering whatever new things I can.