After finishing my PhD in Eduction at the University of Washington and completing the requirements to be a school psychologist, I helped start “First Place”, a non-profit agency in Seattle that was both an elementary school for children who were homeless and a social services program for their families.
After almost two decades at First Place, I took a job as Special Education consultant with Seattle Public Schools and began to teach about the impact of emotional trauma throughout the country, including to bright and motivated students in a high security prison near Seattle.
On June 1 2012, our twenty-eight-year-old daughter, Kelsey, was killed in a bicycle accident. During the first months of grief, I filled notebook after notebook with my thoughts and questions. Throughout the ensuing years, I’ve continued writing, motivated by the insights and perspective I get from putting pen to paper (and fingers to keyboard). My memoir, “Dialogue with Kelsey: A Conversation with My Daughter Before and After Her Death”, was published by Legacy Book Press on August 12, 2025.
I live in Seattle, close to the Salish Sea, with my husband and our very old dog. Besides writing, I love spending time with friends and family, walking on the beach, working in our garden, and exploring the world.
