I work as the Director of the Isle Royale Institute at MTU (a partnership between Isle Royale, MTU, and the University of MN, Duluth for educational and research programs).

I love the ever-present Lake Superior. I love living in the Keweenaw because of the community, the space, the inspiration to get to know a place in all its seasons through the years. Not to mention the incomparable winters!

I enjoy wandering-by foot, canoe, kayak, or ski in wide open spaces, and forever being a student of natural history. More recently I love wandering with my 3 year-old daughter and seeing the world through her curious eyes. We look forward to having the newest edition to the family (baby brother) join us in our adventures as he grows a little older.

I want to help protect land in the Copper Country because it's the right thing to do, to care for the places that I love, and take action to preserve and restore their natural and cultural character-both for my own benefit and for the benefit of those who will come after me. More specifically to the Keweenaw, I would regret not taking action to help to ensure public access to wild and natural places, while also protecting those places. Personal experiences in natural landscapes and with tangible remnants of our cultural history provide inspiration, restorative experiences, physical challenges, and personal connections-things that are central to a quality, intentional life, and help us to better understand who we are and who we want to be. And selfishly, I want to have these lands and waterways for me and my children to explore, play in, and be inspired by.

I joined the KLT because it was a logical fit-a means of becoming more involved in a place I am making home. With the vast majority of land in the Keweenaw under private ownership, protected lands and public access could very well become a dwindling resource here. I was drawn to KLT's focus on building partnerships, working with private landowners, and engaging the local community, as well as KLT's proven success, and impressive list of involved community members--it's an inspiring group of people to work with! I have continued to be involved because of the sense of accomplishment and giving back to my community, and the huge successes of such a small organization with very limited resources.

I bring to the KLT a range of experiences and skills including tearing down moldy dry wall, and any other project that would have me camping on one of Lake Superior's islands. I also am a listener who likes to find clarity to the root of a problem and effective solutions, and is then often impatient to stop talking about it and do something (which can be both a strength and a weakness).

My background is in environmental education and conservation of natural and cultural resources, with several years of experience in planning for resource protection and outdoor recreation. In my current position I am also gaining more experience with grant writing and building partnerships between private and government organizations.


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