Having grown up in Dolores and Montezuma counties on a potato farm and a grass farm, I couldn’t wait to get to college and a different life. After a degree from Colorado State University in Business, I joined the Peace Corps and spent 2 years in Sierra Leone, West Africa as a swamp rice extension agent.

I returned stateside and got a degree in International Agricultural Development from the University of California–Davis. That sent me on a 12 year adventure working in post-conflict settings in areas of micro-finance, refugee relief and return programs in Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Angola, and Indonesia.

It is a wonder what 20+ years away from home can do to one’s appreciation of our unique corner of the United States! I am now co-owner and Vice President of Southwest Seed, growing and selling native grasses and wildflowers for land restoration. My involvement with Montezuma Land Conservancy dovetails with my professional work. Helping people enhance and protect their land in a wide variety of ways motivates my everyday work and my values.