I have a varied background.  As the daughter of an Air Force Officer, I traveled and lived in the four corners of the United States:  Washington, California, Massachusetts, Florida, and then Hawaii.  I attended the University of Redlands in Redlands, California majoring in English Literature and minoring in Art and History.

My education did not end there, however.  I have been called a “professional student.”  During my twenties I studied self-help books and personal growth literature.  During my thirties I studied about children and parenting as my daughter was born when I was 36.  I continued in my thirties and forties to read children’s literature and studied to be a great substitute teacher.

At age 50 I decided to become a teacher and undertook the secondary education program at The University of Idaho and received my certificate in 1996.  I taught senior high school for 1-1/2 years.  At age 55 I decided to become a massage therapist and specialized in oncology massage with special emphasis on the treatment and management of lymphedema, massage for the elderly, and sports rehabilitation massage completing approximately 1850 hours of training in this diverse field.  In 2003 I opened Touchstone Massage Therapies and began The Stepping Stones Wellness Center shared by four independent holistic practitioners.  I created The Sandpoint Wellness Council in 2008 with the mission to provide a forum for holistic practitioners within this region to come together, learn from each other, and provide a broader perspective on holistic health care to better inform the public of all possible choices when it comes to health care and preventive care.

To further get the word out about holistic health care and regional practitioners The Sandpoint Wellness Council members began in 2008 writing articles in our local newspaper each week for eight years.  In 2009 and for seven years I became a host on one of our local radio stations and interviewed many local individuals involved in sustainability and holistic health care practices.

In June 2012 I completed my Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition graduating summa cum laude.  My thesis focused on addressing the rising incidence of veteran suicide through education and understanding of the extreme toxic exposures occurring in theaters of war for all of our veterans and what can be accomplished to reduce this devastating reality with dietary and lifestyle changes.

Since 2017 I have been an instructor of Kinesiology and Pathology at North Idaho Massage Academy educating the next generation of licensed massage therapists.

My passion is to help veterans and their families overcome the health challenges they may have and to resume their pre-war expectations and quality of life.  As well my program choices provide classes and educational information for all individuals and families with the desire to be their optimal best every day.