I am wife and mother of two sons who is passionately committed to fostering change in the world one step at a time. I try to act locally and support global causes whenever possible. To that end, I am actively involved in a number of causes: education (volunteering at our local school in fine arts/music, the website and the school garden), environment (supporting our local advocacy groups including the Monterey Bay Aquarium and personally going green as much as possible), human rights (volunteering for the International Rescue Committee where I hold a position on a local advisory committee) and others (Camp Galileo Parent Advisory Committee, participation in Boy Scouts of America via our sons).

I like to promote parenting, healthy living, gardening and "greening" of our lifestyles in a "pay it forward" type of way; I would encourage people to make a multitude of small changes rather than a lot of big ones (these have a much greater chance of success and of cumulatively affecting change on a much larger scale); on a daily basis, I try to walk the path I believe in and share ideas and experiences with friends and my community in order to introduce them to "doable" activities so that small, sustainable changes will help make a dent in some of the world's problems.

Paul Farmer, Bono, Daniel Quinn, John Wood (Room to Read), Paolo Coehlo, Lt. General Romeo Dallaire, Jared Diamond, Alice Waters, Marlena de Blasi, Elizabeth Gilbert, Rory Stewart, Julia Butterfly Hill, Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, Khaled Hosseini, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.
Dalai Lama

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.
Marc Chagall, Artist

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
Albert Einstein

Nearly every country in Europe (lived in Poland, Sweden, Italy and Belgium), Belize, Canada, Mexico, almost the entire U.S.

Traveling, volunteering, reading, creating, graphic design, communication, gardening, cooking, entertaining

Not fluent in any of the following anymore (due to not living in the relevant countries) but I have extensively studied the following foreign languages:
Polish
Spanish
French
Italian
Swedish
Dutch