It seems to me that we are all poets. The fact that we dream indicates that poetry is a core language of ours - for both are the territory of image. Like dreams, poems offer an experience more than an explanation. The act of writing is an experience, too. Even just by journaling for a few minutes, you may find something clarified or revealed. From personal to professional, writing can play many roles throughout a lifetime, as can listening and reading - two of our most expansive tools. I am fortunate to explore such things in my work as an instructor.

Since 2008, I've taught at three universities – including CSU since 2012, courses I've taught here include: World Drama, College Composition, Reading Without Borders, Introduction to Poetry, Intermediate Writing: Poetry, Self/Community in American Culture, Twentieth Century Fiction, and Study of Literature. I've also taken part in CSU's community literacy outreach program SpeakOut! and UAF's rural and indigenous student services writing center.

I hold a literature-extensive MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, a BFA in Theatre and a BA in English from Missouri’s Stephens College, a 1025-hour CMT (massage) from Rocky Mountain Institute of Healing Arts, and a 45-hour CMLDT (lymph) from Klose. As a healing artist, I also carry smaller certifications in a range of modalities including a current focus on craniosacral. Additionally, numerous publications have supported my poetry and other works, from short plays to interviews and reviews, and The Poetry Foundation selected ten poems from my manuscript Body Bridge as a 2011 Ruth Lilly Fellowship finalist.

Born and raised in Colorado, I've been a poetry reader, workshop leader, or panelist with Telluride Institute: For Place and Planet, Western Colorado Writers Forum, “Rabbit Holes” for KAFM Radio and WCWF, Karen Chamberlain Poetry Festival, CSU’s Master Teacher Initiative Program, Xi Draconis Books, Lithic Bookstore and Press, 100,000 Poets for Change, CALYX, and Poets' Co-op, and, distantly, I've enjoyed several leading roles in a small number of local theatres, a 2000 title of young “Best Actress in Colorado” from the International Thespian Society, and a 2014 CSU Alumni Association Best Teacher Award nomination.

Nearly two decades as a therapist, seven years as a successful small business owner, being a mom, being raised by an environmentalist in a large, working class family, and lived experiences in Northern India, Nepal, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, Mexico (Northern to Southern borders), Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Morocco, England, Canada, Czechia, Austria, Switzerland, and twenty-nine USA states are all notable contributors toward offering students a collective context and outlook.

As an author, I'm perhaps most known for my poems exploring how body meets earth - overlaps, connections, bridges. Why poetry? Because image, space, line breaks, meter, and form can expand language. Although no current or upcoming student is invited to be a client of my healing practice, all are invited to read my poetry to share in values like wholeness, embodiment, and environmentalism. Despite a deep interest in oneness and the potential of oneness to balance some of our individualistic perspectives, I celebrate diversity as a natural and vital energy of life, and I celebrate people of all identities. Autonomy and boundaries matter. Safe spaces matter. I also value conversation, writing as a process, evidence-based claims, curiosity, compassion, courage, and resilience. I hope to see you from the page or classroom soon. Thank you.

Pronouns: she/her/hers