In her own words:
I was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Edgewood, Maryland (a suburb of Baltimore). My faith and involvement at church began at an early age - whether it was children’s choir/handbells, confirmation, youth group, or church softball, my family and I were always at church. I graduated with a BS in Education and a Masters in Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania – with a side of fun as a member of the University marching/symphonic bands and fraternity (Kappa Kappa Psi.) In 1998 I began my teaching career teaching 6th grade language arts and reading in a suburb of Washington DC.
I began discerning God’s call to me to be a pastor while teaching but got scared and decided to show the world that God didn’t want me to be a pastor. So naturally, I began a PhD program in early adolescent literacy at Indiana University - only to learn that God can find you in Indiana! In 2003 I began my seminary education at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio where I received the Fund for Leaders in Mission Scholarship. I completed my internship year at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon and took my first call at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dale City, Virginia as a solo pastor. In 2011 I accepted a call to serve as associate pastor at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon where I focused on connections, middle school faith formation (confirmation), young adults, and communications. In late Fall 2015 I accepted a new call to Joyful Servant Lutheran Church in Newberg, Oregon as solo Pastor.
In 2012 I married my husband Karl, who is also an ELCA pastor. In creating this family, I gained two young adult (now) stepchildren – Nicholas and Caleb, and gave birth to an amazingly outgoing, inquisitive, and laughable son – Kai (now 4 years old.) Together we enjoy board games, movies, good food, hands-on creations (Legos, Magnatiles, G-Ba-Maze) and just getting out and exploring the world. My own passions include connection and community, use of media and technology in faith formation, being authentic and real about who we are and who God has called us to be, ice hockey (#ALLCAPS!), a good beer, friends, laughter, art, poetry, and living boldly in faith every day.