I am thrilled to be joining Window Seat Media as a Community Stories intern this summer. Growing up in the Puget Sound area and the San Juan Islands, places rich with stories, has inspired me to pursue a career in oral history, public history, and archival work. I am a rising senior at Tulane University majoring in math and English. I love reading, writing, baking pies, swimming in the Puget Sound, and going on adventures with my dog.

I am an oral historian, multimedia storyteller and educator and the mother of two small children. I feel most at home as an interviewer, editor, and curator, and I love facilitating learning communities. I am fed by conversation, and I crave time alone. I am a voracious consumer of ideas and stories. Window Seat Media offers me, an introvert by nature, an opportunity to connect with people and try to make sense of the complexity and contradictions of the human experience. It is an honor and a gift to be have the opportunity to sit with others, to ask them questions about their lives, and then to share a bit of their truth and wisdom with others.

I hold a B.A. in cultural and community studies from The Evergreen State College and a Masters from the University of Oregon in Interdisciplinary Studies: Folklore, Anthropology, and Journalism.

I am a student, communications consultant, advisor, writer and reader. I am finishing my first year in the Evergreen Masters in Public Administration program with an emphasis on Public Policy, co-own a design agency called August Creative, and am heavily involved in the health and future of the Olympia community.

Window Seat Media encourages communities to find common ground and to focus on their shared experiences. I am so inspired by our curator, Elaine, the language she uses, the respect she has for the communities she engages with. I have learned so much from her and our board.

In my work with the Heartsparkle Players, a Playback Theatre Company,  I strive to provide a creative and supportive space for everyone to tell their stories, to see their stories become a work of art and to have their stories honored in a way that allows for the uniqueness and the shared aspects of their humanity. In my work as an actor with medical personnel at Joint Base Lewis McChord I strive to bring authenticity and constructive feedback to help providers better serve their patients. In my community theatre work I strive to bring my joy and love of live performance to all our community and to participate in telling stories that bring insight and connection. In my everyday life I strive to better understand the complexity of my community, to build bridges across difference and to see social justice in small and large acts.

I am endlessly fascinated and in awe of the human story and the ways in which we tell our stories and view our stories. I long to highlight the stories that have not been held in respect and reverence by the dominant culture. WSM strives to support, seek out and find a place for stories to be heard and brought out in the light. I am honored to be a part of this organization and to hold stories central in our community.

I’ve been retired for the past five years.  For the twenty-five years before that, I was very fortunate to lead the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County. I currently do activities that help me be mindful in the moment, that keep my body strong and flexible, that promote peace and justice in the wider world, and that feed my soul with all the beauty and pleasure of being alive.

I want to promote any activity that encourages human connection and empathy.  Telling and listening to each others' stories is such a powerful way to promote connection. Window Seat Media offers so many creative and varied ways to connect with each other.  If our species is going to survive, we have to transcend our fears and hatreds of the ‘other’.    

I actively work for peace and justice locally and globally. I am the Program Manager at the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice where I enjoy using my planning and coordination skills in support of social justice and human rights. I also work for the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County as a Trainer for the YES! (Youth Empowerment Services) facilitating conflict resolution skills and processes that engage youth in authentic dialogue that deepens understanding.

I hope to join my many interests with the work of Window Seat Media to not only expand my own growth as an artist, listener, and peacemaker but to contribute to the growth of our community towards an inclusive and liberating one.

I am a queer filmmaker, writer, and multimedia artist. My debut book, Moss Covered Claws, came out from Blue Cactus Press in March 2021. You can order it at bluecactuspress.com. I have also been published in the Forest Avenue Press collections Dispatches From Anarres and City of Weird. I have directed and written three feature films, a dozen-ish short films, and four web series—with my film work being presented at the Olympia Film Society, Northwest Film Forum, Grand Cinema, and Trans Stellar Film Festival. I usually find myself in old haunted buildings or overgrown swamps.