"Working with rural communities is my passion. A love for living the old ways runs in the family and a reverence for historic preservation underscores my mission. I was born in South Dakota, with my growing up years in Southern Maryland tobacco country along the Patuxent River. A favorite pastime was photographing historic homes and visiting rural downtowns. After college and managing a construction business in McLean, Virginia my family happily escaped to Ocracoke Island North Carolina in 2003.
On Ocracoke, I was drawn-in by the historic charm and stories of the past where families and fishing were gold. It was here that I dove into the nonprofit world for 12 years.
Missing cornfields, tobacco barns, and rural scenery I purchased a small farm in Williamston, NC to serve as a part-time back-to-nature retreat. Then in 2016, I made the move inland. I enjoy living close to nature and following the old-ways as much as possible in this internet age - with only a kitchen sink and a claw foot tub for running water; no heat or a/c; a wood stove for cooking and an abundance of farm animals. Our current project is restoring a late 1890's cow barn into a kitchen with a traditional open hearth for cooking and adding a second cabin for a Trading Post for authentically made wares and classes.
I'm thankful for the opportunity to live and work in the Eastern NC countryside surrounded once again by farms, trees and tractors."
