About Me

I am a young, energetic professional passionate about making a difference in the lives of those around me. I hold a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary sciences from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SD Mines) and a master's degree in administration from the University of South Dakota. After grad school, I returned to SD Mines to begin my career in STEM outreach (#STEMinist), community involvement, event management, and public relations. I have been director of our regional science fair, principal coordinator for high-profile events, written for and edited publications ranging from alumni magazines to news releases picked up by the Associated Press, and been a content author for the university's social media platforms.

Others may see me as painfully and obsessively organized, but I prefer to say I am efficient and detail-oriented. I am a systematic, logical thinker who is usually not very witty, but I do appreciate a good pun. In my free time, you can usually find me reading a book, attempting to be a yogi (usually not successfully, but I give myself an A for effort), re-organizing things I have already organized, or awwing over puppy videos. I also enjoy a good night of dancing, a fun round of golf, or a casual/amateur tornado chase.

I grew up on a reservation in south central South Dakota and moved away when I left for college. My parents divorced when I was too young to remember, but fortunately they maintained a good relationship throughout my life. I have two older brothers who have given me the chance to be "that crazy aunt" to four nephews and two nieces. My husband and I have been together for fifteen years, married for nine. I also have a small circle of close friends who make my life complete and I don't know what I would do without them (you know who you are). #MyPeople

In case I haven't given you enough information about me, below are a few "top five" lists that I find extremely important.

Fave Sports Teams/Athletes:

1. San Antonio Spurs (Popovich for President in 2020!)

2. Washington Capitals (Ovechkin does not mean Oven Chicken.)

3. Texas Longhorns (Hook 'em!)

4. Golfer Jordan Spieth (He is a Longhorn, after all.)

5. Rapid City Rush (Hometown ECHL hockey team.)

Fave Books:

1. Zorro by Isabel Allende (Side note: I totally met Antonio Banderas aka Zorro IRL.)

2. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

3. The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light by Carlos Santana, Ashley Kahn, and Hal Miller

4. Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers by Eric Nguyen and Mike Hollingshead

5. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (Hello, it's a childhood classic.)

Fave Music Genres:

1. Rock (Santana & Stevie Ray Vaughn are my faves, but I could sing you any Guns N Roses song from Appetite for Destruction thanks to my husband's ridiculous obsession.)

2. Country (I may have a level of obsession with Luke Bryan that rivals my husband's obsession with GNR.)

3. Pop (The Backstreet Boys tour with Jesse McCartney was everything I needed to make my life complete.)

4. Current R&B/Hip Hop (Looking at you, The Weeknd and Jason DeRulo.)

5. Old School R&B (Shout out to my mom for introducing me to Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, and Marvin Gaye when I was just a youngster.)

Fave TV Shows:

1. Supernatural (Jared and Jensen can save me from demons any day.)

2. Everything in the #OneChicago universe (Of the Fire, Med, & PD variety.)

3. Empire (We all need a bit of Cookie's sassiness in our lives. #BossLady)

4. Young & Hungry (Feel good laughs all day long.)

5. Big Bang Theory (Because we all know a Sheldon.)

(*Gilmore Girls, Greek, and Friends are also on my list of faves, but they're not currently on the air.)

Fave Movie Genres:

1. Anything Disney (Beauty & the Beast, Moana, Frozen, The Aristocats, and Lady & the Tramp are at the top of the list.)

2. RomComs (What's Your Number?, You've Got Mail, and Something Borrowed are my go-to flicks.)

3. Movies made from Nicholas Sparks books (If you haven't seen the "Tears of Joy" edition of The Best of Me, you need to.)

4. Pretty much anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (On the verge of jumping from #TeamCap to #TeamSpidey thanks to Tom Holland killing it on Lip Sync Battle and later learning moves from Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.)

5. Ridiculous comedies (How many times can one watch Anchorman and Zoolander before it is considered too many? Asking for a friend.)