I am currently working with students in my home office in Minneapolis and on Zoom.
I was born in Golden Valley, Minnesota and have lived in Minneapolis most of my life except for seasonal stints in the mountains of Montana, Washington, and North Carolina. Trained as an educator with a degree in Psychology, my career has involved teaching youth of all ages a variety of subjects including psychology, children's literature, and world religions. I am a year-round commuter biker, enjoy community singing, Tai Chi, wilderness adventuring, and growing a home together with my partner, Maren.
I joined the Midwest II Diamond Approach in 2007 and was ordained as a Ridhwan Teacher in 2024. I embrace a genderful orientation to life, recognizing that any name or identity we give ourselves is still an approximation to the limitless and magnificent array of qualities at the heart of our truest and deepest selves.
What really resonates for me within this particular path is the inner process of discovery and understanding which illuminates the treasures of who and what we are. I am drawn to the inherent kindness that arises within the sincere and open-hearted curiosity that this teaching, the practices, and a community of fellow travelers activates. It is a kind of befriending that allows anything to be explored with compassion, support, and clarity as we make our sacred way homeward.
Since as early as I could remember, I felt a soulful stirring and attraction to the spiritual aspects of life and a desire to get to the heart of the matter. Being raised in a Christian culture provided some of the earliest material in which to begin my explorations, with mystical poetry, encounters in nature, and work with Parker Palmer's Center for Courage and Renewal nourishing my path along the way. It was during a mindfulness class that someone suggested I check out the Diamond Approach and once I did I felt like I was home.
Published poems in the Diamond Dust Magazine: