Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts and Writing, 2023. California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco CA.
Graphic Design Coursework, 2020. Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis MN.
Master of Arts in Theology & the Arts, 2020 (partial completion). United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, St. Paul MN.
Master of Arts in Public Affairs, 1991. Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN.
Bachelor of Arts in History, 1986. Dartmouth College, Hanover NH.
Influences
ARTISTS
Meredith Monk. Composer, singer, interdisciplinary artist, visionary in using the human voice as an instrument to express what words cannot and combining voice, movement, and imagery with deep emotional impact.
Pauline Oliveros. Composer, pioneer in electronic music, and creator of a practice called Deep Listening. “Take a walk at night,” she suggested. “Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.”
BUDDHISM
In particular, The Three Tenets as taught by Roshi Joan Halifax via her teacher Roshi Bernie Glassman: 1) Not Knowing; 2) Bearing Witness; 3) Compassionate Action. Also, Original Face, which Roshi Joan Sutherland describes as “stepping into the space before reactions, opinions, and stories arise.” Other teachers have called it the “buddha nature” in all of us.
CANCER
The death in 2012 of my close friend of thirty-two years from metastatic breast cancer when she and I were both forty-eight years old has attuned me to look for ways that my creative work might support those experiencing terminal illness.
MOTHERHOOD
From 1992 to the present. Infinite lessons in self-awareness, self-forgiveness, humility, personal growth, love, and bearing witness to the human condition.
NATURE
The movement of clouds and water, oceans in particular. The stalwart immovability of rocks and boulders. The way light pierces an old growth redwood forest.
PLACES
Manhattan (birthplace), Alabama (childhood home), Minnesota (adult home).
Experiences
Story Producer at Studio-Lu Stories
2012 to present. Creating multi-media stories that share first person narratives aimed at connecting us more deeply to our true selves and to one another.
Collaborative work with other artists
2022 to present. Ongoing collaborations with artists including documentary filmmakers, writers, painters, and performance artists whose story work intersects with my own.
Working Group on Consciousness and The Arts
2024 to present. An informal group of artists and scholars who believe that the arts offer a powerful pathway to the evolution of human consciousness. Seeking to raise awareness of the work of a diversity of artists in this arena.
Study with Meredith Monk and Ellen Fisher
2023 and 2024. Voice as Practice Workshop. Garrison Institute, Philipstown NY. In-person study with Monk and Fisher learning techniques in Monk’s artistic approach, combining voice, movement and image.
Artist in Residence, The Audre Project
2020 to 2021. Invited by author, spiritual advisor, and Buddhist scholar Pamela Ayo Yetunde to serve as resident artist for a program she was developing offering spiritual support to women with cancer.
Study with Roshi Joan Halifax
2020 to 2022. In-person training at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe NM in Halifax’s GRACE model of compassionate care. Further study with Halifax in an intensive year-long program on Socially Engaged Buddhism.
Presenter at United Nations Womens Conference
2016. Panelist, “Art, Poetry, Film for Women’s Resilience, Empowerment, Bonding: Re-Charging Our Advocacy in Post-2015.” 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York City.
affordable housing and environmental work
1986-1998. Early career experiences in advocacy for affordable house and a clean, healthy, safe environment still reverberate through the stories I am drawn to tell and the ways I choose to tell them. Co-author of “Community Reinvestment in the City of St. Paul: Are Residents and Businesses Receiving the Financial Services They Need?“ published in 1990 by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.