Since my dad worked for the railroad, we made some big moves while I was growing up. I spent 11 years in Amarillo, Texas, 6 in a suburb of Chicago, and then 4 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was there that I met my ex-husband who was in the Air Force, stationed at Kirtland AFB.  It’s probably no surprise that traveling is one of my favorite things to do, and I still take several trips a year.

Once married, we quickly moved to Okinawa, Japan for 5 years where two of our three children were born. Then, we came back to Colorado Springs for 4 years, and then off to Verona, Italy for 2. Finally, we settled down outside of Dayton, Ohio, which is where I consider home.  I love that Dayton is so diverse and has all the benefits of a city life while not being too big.

Growing up, I was very athletic. By high school, I focused all of my energy on the sport I loved most: basketball. Although I never went on to play college level, I was thrilled to be able to coach my kids' teams for 8 years.  I learned that coaching required more than just teaching the fundamentals.  Young players also had to be shown how to be team players.  What a difference that could make!

Helping my kids with their homework and volunteering in their classrooms really inspired me. I was so enthused that I developed summer school programs that included everything from reading rewards to community service to field trips.  To let the neighborhood kids know not to disturb us, we would hang a sign on the front door that said school was in session and what time to come back.  Being able to spend the summers with my kids, my dream team, is one of my biggest blessings.

Eventually, I went back to college to make teaching official.  After earning my bachelor’s, I worked as a K-12 substitute teacher.  Later, after earning my master’s, I landed a full-time position teaching writing and literature at a community college where I was eventually promoted to full professor.  Like me, many of my students hadn’t envisioned themselves as college graduates.  I found great joy in showing them that it was possible.  I knew if I could do it, so could they.

Throughout my life, my creative writing has taken a backseat to everything else.  When I decided to quit my job, I didn’t quite have a vision of what I wanted to do next, except that I wanted to make writing a priority.  So I began by writing about my experience of overcoming the incredible debt that gambling had left me with.  Writing that book propelled my desire to help others, and I decided to build a coaching business around the financial strategies I had developed.  And here we are!