Hometown? I was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and grew up in rural western Pennsylvania. 

When did you join UMRA? 2019

What was your very first job? Selling garden produce from the fence in front of our home. We grew the vegetables in our garden. I was seven and learned to make change that summer, selling vegetables.

What was your occupation when you retired from FT work? I worked in fundraising and development at the U for 25 years, including two years in a college on the St. Paul Campus and 15 years at the U of M Foundation. I retired as the development officer for Global Programs and Strategy Alliance. 

Where were you in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon? In July 1969, I had just graduated from Penn State and was living at home with my dad, preparing to move to Connecticut. I taught Spanish in high school in Connecticut and met Nevin Young, who was a grad student at Yale [and is now a professor in the U’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences].

If you were an Olympic athlete, what would you like your sport to be? In high school during pre-Title 9 days, there wasn’t much opportunity for girls in sports. When our daughter was in high school, I’d watch her on the soccer field and feel like I wanted to kick the ball, too. I would have enjoyed playing soccer.

Do you have a favorite place on the U of M campus? I like standing on the patio at the Campus Club and looking up the mall, at downtown Minneapolis, and the light rail tracks. It’s fun to know that from there, you can go anywhere—literally and figuratively.

What is a fun fact about you we might not know? In my younger days, I was an avid rock climber and cross-country skier.

What is something you currently enjoy doing with your time? Nevin and I both enjoy square dancing, bowling, and playing bocce. Last summer our bocce team tied for first place in our league.