Born in a small town in southeastern Wisconsin, I grew up living in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. Later, attending Drake University in Des Moines, IA (B.S. Education) and then Marycrest University in Davenport, IA (M.Ed), I came to name the mid-west as my home.

Raised in my father’s faith tradition, Roman Catholicism, (my mother was brought up in the Protestant tradition), I hold early memories of ecumenical understandings. Furthermore, my own interfaith awareness grew when, as a high school student, I cleaned house for a Jewish Rabbi and his family while serving alongside them at their holiday meals and Jewish celebrations. I eventually lived with them during my senior year when my family made a move out of state. This interfaith understanding deepened as I continued serving and working for a Hasidic Rabbi at Drake University’s Jewish Student Center throughout my college years.

My vocational path then took me into a variety of primary level classrooms over the next couple of years, prompting me to eventually return to school for a Master’s Degree in Reading / Language Arts. Following a hiatus from teaching during which my primary focus was the raising of my two daughters, I returned to the classroom as a teacher for five years.

Then, stepping out of the classroom four years ago after discerning a call to a more contemplative way of life, I once again returned to school. This time, I completed the Spiritual Guidance Training Program sponsored by the Racine Dominicans at Siena Center along with obtaining a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies through Edgewood College. This combination of experience and study has provided a theological basis for my ministry as a Spiritual Guide, grounding me in the Christian tradition while honoring the wisdom and beauty that is found in other world religions and spiritualities. Additionally, as a married mother of two daughters, I am particularly interested in women’s spirituality and the role it plays during transitional times in a woman’s life.

Today, as a Benedictine Oblate of Holy Wisdom Ecumenical Monastery, my commitment to prayer, hospitality, and care of the earth is an important aspect of my own spirituality. This spiritual community also serves as a touchstone in my desire to live contemplatively, as well as supporting me in my spiritual practices of Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, and Tai Chi. As a member of both “Madison Interfaith Dialogue” and “Contemplative Outreach of Southeast Wisconsin”, I continue to grow in my understanding of God’s continual, Self-revelation in the world.

Along with my current ministry of Spiritual Guidance, I am also on the retreat staff of “Whispering Winds Retreat Haven” in near-by Cambridge, WI. I trust that the experiences and gifts of my own journey will allow me to compassionately and prayerfully serve others--listening to humanity’s sacred stories, holding the space for contemplation in the midst of action, and offering hope for the world.