What is your role at LUMC? How long have you been in your current role?

I serve LUMC as Director of Communications. I handle newsletters, our social media channels, signage, service bulletins, our website, and assist with coordinating special services and events. I began my employment with LUMC in April of 2022.

What is your place of birth/where are you from? Where all have you lived?

I have lived in Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas and Arkansas, and have spent a fair amount of time living in each of those places, but I was born in Nelsonville, Ohio and spent most of my childhood in a suburb of Cleveland, called Shaker Heights. I would say I am a mid-westerner at heart.

Where did you attend school (high school/college/grad school)?

I graduated from Pulaski Academy, in Little Rock. I attended my freshman year of college at University of AR in Fayetteville, before transferring to University of North Texas, in Denton, TX (just north of the DFW Metroplex), where I earned my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not at work?

I love traveling to Texas to see my two grandsons, but here in Arkansas, you’ll find me in the kitchen or tending my plants. In fact, when I lived in Ohio, I had my own greenhouse where I grew my own food and medicinal herbs. I also spend a fair amount of time training my dog, Zeus - a two-year old, Doberman Pinscher we recently rescued. He is a handful but I’m crazy about him!

Do you have a favorite Bible verse, passage, or story? If so, what is it?

My favorite Bible passage is 2Chronicals 16:9: For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro, throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him. It is a good reminder to me of how God has been so faithful in my life, when I have chosen to put Him first.

What is a fun fact about you that most people may not know?

I just started a series of classes through the Herbal Academy in Bedford, Massachusetts, to become a Master Herbalist. It will be a four-year journey for me, but I’ve been practicing medicinal herbalism for over 20 years!

Do you follow sports? If so, what are your favorite sports/teams?

I enjoy college sports best - especially basketball - and am an avid watcher of NCAA March Madness. I especially like watching the Razorbacks, and my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes! I am not so much a professional sports fan, with the exception of the Dallas Cowboys, but that is more a tribute to my dad, who was a die-hard fan, when he was alive.

What is your favorite place you have visited? If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? What would you do there? Who would you go with?

I have been fortunate in that I’ve traveled quite a bit professionally and was able to parley many of those trips into some personal site-seeing. I love the United Kingdom - its architecture and history, especially. I also love Kauai, Hawaii, the Northern California coast and wine country, and New England - especially Cape Cod, and the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

If I could visit anywhere in the world that I haven’t been to, it would be Lake Como in northern Italy - actually, all of northern Italy, starting with Milan.

If you were given the opportunity to share a meal with any one person - past or present, who would you dine with?

Of course it would be Jesus! Failing that, it would be a toss-up between Thomas Sowell, Dietric Bonhoffer or Mary Jane Patterson. (I enjoy reading biographies!)

If you had to choose your last meal, what would it be?

Fresh Sashimi or Lobster. Definitely seafood, with a side of pasta, probably, and Tiramisu for dessert.