Many voters want to know more about a candidate's background. For this reason, I thought I would share just an overview of mine. The following is a few of the high points, particularly as they relate to my experience, values, skills, and preparation for work as a Pacifica City Council member.

As I was raised on a farm in Iowa, my family taught me values that have served me well throughout my life. Successful small family farms require very hard work and commitment. My family also believed in community and instilled a strong value of community service. As a child, I watched neighbors come together to harvest the fields and step forward to help each other in times of trouble. My father, my hero and role model, reminded me frequently that he “never met a stranger, only people he did not yet know.” These values have provided the basis for much of my professional life as a nurse, educator, businessperson and consultant. It is also why I have over 20 years of community volunteerism in Pacifica.

In the Iowa public education system, I received a strong start for the important task of life long learning. I completed my bachelors and first masters at the University of Iowa in Nursing and then moved west. I literally drove Interstate 80 (and then 280 and Highway 1) until I reached the ocean. At the end of that road was the most beautiful place I had seen. Even though I first lived in San Francisco, I knew then, if I ever bought a home, it would be in Pacifica. And, in the early 1980s I was fortunate enough to be able to do so.

At the California School of Professional Psychology, then in Berkeley, I completed my second Masters degree and doctoral work, which provided a strong base for understanding people and organizations. As I was completing my advanced education, I worked as a nurse and later nurse practitioner. During that time, I also began building my business. Currently, I work at the Center for Human Services, University of California, Davis, am a partner and co-owner of Pro-ACT, Inc., and am self-employed as a consultant for mental health services.

My experience in working with government agencies is one of the strongest contributions I can make to the Pacifica City Council. I have coordinated projects that involve working with multiple state agencies in every county in California. Currently, I am involved in writing regulations to put legislation into practice for the Department of Social Services. I have also developed curriculum and coordinated projects nationally for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. These large projects involved working with government agencies in every state and territory. One project specifically involved implementation of the Mental Health component in the National Response Framework for FEMA. Successful completion of these projects required skills in consensus-building, communication, and collaboration.

As a business person, I have developed and expanded a national/international consulting business which I co-own. With twenty years in business, I have strong financial and marketing skills, as well as in communications and publications.

I have served Pacifica as a community activist and volunteer for over twenty years. With community outreach, consensus building, and positive motivation, I have been able to bring together extremely diverse groups in support of causes like education, economic development and the environment. When our community comes together, we are truly an amazing force and a joy to experience.

• Vice Chair, West Sharp Park Advisory Committee;
• Fog Fest Organizing Group, Board of Directors: Parade Chair and Former Sponsorship Chair;
• Pacifica Democrats; founding member,
• Pacificans United for Positive Solutions,
• Co-chair Saving Pacifica Schools,
• Strategic Planning committee for Pacifica School District;
• Friend of the Pacifica Education Foundation;
• Pacifica Connected;
• Pacifica Historical Society;
• Preserve Our Pier Supporters; assistant organizer,
• Brighton Beach Neighborhood Watch and
• Fundraiser/organizer for various campaigns/events such as the retirement party and community bench to honor Scott Holmes, long time Director of Public Works and the Town Hall meeting to support Jackie Speier’s recent election.

In addition, I have a long list of professional affiliations, most significant among them are:

• President elect for the California Chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurse Association
• Board of Directors for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
• Outstanding Service Award, University of California, Davis
• Nursing Excellence Award, Association of Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses, State of Washington
• Founding Faculty, National Executive Training Institute for Reduction in the Use of Seclusion and Restraint
• Co-editor, Psychiatric Nursing Contemporary Practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott

Finally, after my family, my greatest love is travel. I have managed to visit every continent, including Antarctica. During my college years, I worked two summers as a counselor on the Appalachian Service Project and immediately saw the advantage of combining service with travel. Since then I have completed a medical exchange with the old Soviet Union, participated in a medical mission for nomadic tribes in Tibet, and provided health services to villagers in the South Pacific. On my most recent trip, I was moved by the plight of children living in a orphanage in Phenom Phen.