ABOUT

Language is my favorite raw material. Elastic and precise, it challenges me to work hard for those moments when a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a finished piece comes together. I honed my craft in the worlds of the arts and arts education, where I continue to inquire, read, write, edit, and create work.

I graduated from the LA County Arts Commission’s (LACAC) Arts Leadership Initiative and two years later established the first development manager position in the 10-year history of the Arts for All: Regional Blueprint for Arts Education at LACAC. I then served as the first development director in the history (35-yrs. at the time) of Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, outdoor repertory theatre, in Topanga, California. I developed a track record of writing, editing, and packaging successful grant proposals and did so for several other organizations, including Get Lit - Words Ignite, Arts for LA, and the California State Summer School for the Arts.

In 2012, the late Dr. James S. Catterall recruited me to launch the Centers for Research on Creativity (CRoC). Renowned for his studies of the measurable effects of music and art on developing youth, his research at CRoC expanded to the studies of creativity, or, the conditions that promote creative problem solving across domains. We conducted studies with Inner City Arts, Educational Theatre Association, Collaborations: Teachers and Artists, among others, and I went on to become CRoC’s Associate Director. At the same time, I co-founded Topanga Authors’ Group and for four years offered free presentations, roundtables, readings, and workshops at Topanga Library. Working with that institution’s collaborative leadership and a team of volunteers, we produced the Transport Topanga Literary Festival, (2016, 2017) featuring an extraordinary line up of locally based, multigenerational talent.

Following the untimely death of Dr. Catterall in August 2017, CRoC closed. I continue my exploration of creativity in the Masters Degree program in Creativity and Change Leadership at Buffalo State College, SUNY. Previous studies include Journalism and Creative Writing at UCLA and Santa Monica College. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, my hometown.