Some of my earliest memories are of tapping maple trees with my dad in our yard in Minnesota. Watching the sap collect in the big white buckets, and standing over the bubbling pot day after day as the sap transformed was magical. Outdoor adventures in my youth inspired my academic pursuits and helped shape my educational path. I earned a B.S. in Outdoor Education, Natural History, and Earth Science from Northland College and taught at a residential science school before obtaining my Montessori teaching certification. After spending many years in a classroom, I relocated with my family to Portland, where I was able to blend my experience in outdoor education and Montessori into a full-time job at a wonderful school. Outdoor adventures remain a significant part of my life, especially with my family. Whether hiking in Forest Park, paddling down the river, or skiing through the trees, nature is my favorite place to be. I am incredibly excited to be part of the Oregon Maple Project community!​​

To all the sugaring enthusiasts and the curious, I’m deeply grateful to be joining this community and practice! My journey here began with navigating the many lenses of food justice. I graduated from University of Oregon with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. In my work since then, I’ve advocated for farm to school connections, fostered farmers markets centered for Latino agriculturalists, coordinated volunteers in food banking efforts and community gardens, and most recently worked at a CSA vegetable farm. My efforts are rooted in aspirations for collective liberation, particularly within the framework of a sustainable food system that prioritizes connection to the land. I believe in the power of collaboration and the healing that emerges when we reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. I’m especially excited to expand my work into the world of native perennials and to work with sugar as a source of joy and whimsy, and a true soul gift from the Bigleaf Maple trees. The natural world continues to be a space of solace for me, a relationship that teaches me humility, embodiment, and resiliency. I’m eager to share this with others. Outside of this work, I find joy in bouldering, hiking, backpacking, cooking, reading, painting, and dreaming up tiny ecological dwellings. I look forward to connecting with you all! 

As my friends and family will tell you, I am captivated by maple. It began during my high school semester at The Mountain School in Vershire, Vermont, where I got my first taste of sugaring. After graduating with a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University, I settled out West, where I spent two decades raising my sons and teaching fourth and fifth grade in Oregon. Working with students in the woods, I renewed my maple mania, learning to tap native Bigleaf Maple trees, and launching the Oregon Maple Project in 2020. When I’m not tromping through the sugarbush, I’m usually still outdoors, farming, running, backpacking, or cross-country skiing with my family. Indoors, I continue to pursue the old, slow arts: letterpress printing, bread making, and yoga. I am delighted to be focusing this chapter of my life on nature, community, and the irresistible work of sugaring.

Growing up in upstate New York, I spent many summers wandering the woods with my Grandfather around the farm that my Great Aunt and Uncle owned in the Catskills. It was during this time that I began to understand and appreciate the power of being in nature. These early experiences helped guide me toward realizing my need for an experiential and project based education that was grounded in nature and the environment, which led me to Prescott College in Arizona. At Prescott, I grew as a photographer, while exploring the landscape of the Southwest, ultimately graduating with a B.A. in Photography & Counseling Psychology. Following my time in Arizona, I was drawn to the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Living in Portland, I have continued to grow in my photography, which includes event and portrait photography. Since high school, I have had the opportunity to work with many different children, those that are typical, differently abled, and neurodiverse, in classrooms and home settings. My own children are students at fabulous schools where I volunteer on a regular basis. It was at one of these schools where I first learned abut making syrup from Bigleaf Maples. I relish the time I get to spend in the woods, learning new skills and participating in the process of creating Bigleaf Maple syrup. 

​I am a born and raised Oregonian; every time I've left, I've eventually returned. There is something in the trees and the rain that draws my heart back to the PNW. I've always loved being out in nature, and I remember my mother telling me that trees have stories to tell; you just need to be quiet and listen to them. My husband is a New Englander through and through and has taught me about sugaring - something he used to do on family properties in Vermont and Connecticut. We found out about the Oregon Maple Project by attending a Sugaring Workshop and fell in love with the project. In my professional life, I'm a social worker for a New York City nonprofit that supports community based organizations in the good work that they do for New Yorkers every day. I received my M.S. in Social Work from Fordham University and my B.A. in Psychology from Hope International University. I love working in the nonprofit sector and am excited to bring nonprofit experience into nature. I live in Salem with my husband, our two dogs, five chickens, a leopard gecko, a musk turtle, and an axolotl!

I am a native Oregonian raising two daughters and a flock of chickens on our small backyard farm in Portland. As an artist and Master Gardener who enjoys crafts, cooking, canning, and local food, I became captivated by Bigleaf Maple sugaring when I first witnessed it at my daughters' school. Since then, I have been a steady volunteer with the Oregon Maple Project, assisting with production, field trips, workshops, and the Board. My work as a counselor and board member at Camp UKANDU, as well as my position as a life & earth science educator at OMSI have provided me with relevant experience to contribute to OMP. My educational background includes a B.A. in Anthropology & Southwest Studies from Colorado College and a M.S. in Genetic Counseling from University of California Berkeley.